Avatar Cat: The Last AirClan Cat: Winter
by Warrior Cat Cody
Summary: A young cat named Goldpaw, the last of his Clan, has to learn the Elements in order to stop the ruthless FireClan from plunging the world into eternal darkness and evil. Rated T for language, blood, mild gore, and violence. Complete!
1. Avatar Cat Theme

**AvatarCat11: Hey, everyone. This is AvatarCat11 saying that I'm gonna change my Avatar Cat story a little bit. Instead of adding three segments of each episode, I'm gonna put all three parts together.**

**Katara: Hopefully, things are going to be all right with this story. But you do know about the extra work you'll have to do.**

**AvatarCat11: I'm aware of that, Katara, and I'll just try my best. So let's get on with the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: I will never own Avatar: The Last AirBender or Warrior Cats. And I'm sorry to say, but I might delete my other Avatar Cat story; I'm just going to try and reconstruct the story.**

**Updating Date: November 10, 2011**

**AvatarCat11 and Katara: Enjoy!**

…**.**

_Water, element of kindness._

_Earth, element of strength._

_Fire, element of passion._

_Air, element of freedom._

_My grandmother Rainbreeze has told stories to our Clan about the older times. It was a time of peace. It was also when the Avatar Cat kept balance between the four new Clans: WaterClan, EarthClan, FireClan, and AirClan._

_Unfortunately, everything changed forever when FireClan attacked. And the Avatar Cat, master of all four Clans and their elements, can stop these ruthless cats. But when the other cats needed him badly, he disappeared from every cat's sight._

_Fourteen years have passed and FireClan is already winning the War as if StarClan gave them ultimate power. And four moons ago, my father and leader, Emberstar, and most of the warriors have went away to help the other Clans in the War, leaving me and my littermate Ashpaw to fend for our Clanmates._

_Some cats say the Avatar Cat was never reborn and the cycle of Avatar Cats had been broken forever. But as for me, I will not give up hope; I still know that one day, the Avatar Cat will return to save our world._

_To be continued…_

**...**

**AvatarCat11: How do you guys like it?**

**Katara: It has a nice ring about it. How do we give out gifts if this is the same story?**

**AvatarCat11: Well, I think we can do the same as last time. And those who review will get virtual plushes of Avatar: The Last AirBender. So review, please!**

**AvatarCat11 and Katara: And see ya next time!**


	2. The Cat In The White Stone

**AvatarCat11: Hey, I'm going on a short vacation to my dad's place soon, so I won't be around to update this story soon. But I'll be working on it. WARNING: Every episode is going to be long, but they'll be exciting!**

**Summary: Two ordinary WaterClan siblings find a mysterious cat in a White Stone on their territory. And this is the first episode of Avatar Cat EVER!**

**Katara: Also, Aang is here to help out with the commentary.**

**Aang: (Enters the office) Right here! So these are revised episodes?**

**AvatarCat11: (Nods) Yeah. I might have to take down the other story to make this one go well. (To the readers) And here's the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: I have never owned Avatar: The Last AirBender or Warrior Cats and I never will. Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter own them. Plus, the song at the beginning is called "Circle of Life" from The Lion King. Both The Lion King and Circle of Life belongs to Disney.**

**Updating Date: November 10, 2011**

**AvatarCat11, Katara, and Aang: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Cat In The White Stone_

Many moons ago, the Twolegs had roamed the Earth, multiplying in numbers while some animals either multiply or decrease. But after they had vanished from the face of the planet, the animals began to dominate the world like they had before, during, and after the dinosaurs. And among those animals that rose above the others were Clan cats.

Just like the five older Clans (ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, RiverClan, and SkyClan), four newer Clans had risen to become the new dominant animals on the Earth. Unlike the older Clans before them, these new Clans had learned to Bend the elements around them to adapt to this world. They became Benders of their own location; AirClan lived in the mountains on little islands, EarthClan lived on the main continent, FireClan lived on tropical islands, and WaterClan lived in the tundra.

And one cat had risen above other Clan cats to Bend all four elements: the Avatar Cat. Able to be reincarnated in each Clan by a respective order, he or she was able to keep balance between the world of the Clan cats and the territories of either StarClan or the Dark Forest. However, though his or her duty was to be loyal to all the Clans, he or she had strangely vanished. Because of this, FireClan launched a Great War on the world that lasted for fourteen years and it still went on...

**...**

_Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba_

_Sithi uhm ingonyama_

Anyways, back to the story. It was a cold and blustery day in the southern WaterClan territory, with just a few birds singing and berry bushes had become frozen for this leaf-bare. Several seals were looking around before slipping into the icy water while musk-oxen rooted the ground for ground plants to eat. Two young cats were hunting for their Clan right beside the river, which was partly frozen.

_Nants ingonyama bagithi baba_

_Sithi uhhmm ingonyama_

The two cats were Silverpaw and Ashpaw, two siblings of WaterClan. Silverpaw was a very pretty silver-pelted she-cat with stunning dark blue eyes, but the thing most unique about her was a fox-fang necklace she inherited from her mother Seamist. And Seamist had inherited it from her mother-in-law Rainbreeze, the oldest elder of WaterClan. Ashpaw, on the other hand, had a darker pelt than his beautiful sister; he had a dark gray tabby pelt complete with pale blue eyes.

_Ingonyama_

_Siyo Nqoba_

_Ingonyama_

_Ingonyama nengw' enamabala (Four times)_

And let me tell you this: personalities weren't the same either. Silverpaw was a working hard cat and tends to the other cats in the Clan on the brink of exhaustion, while Ashpaw spent his time hunting or training to fight. Of course Ashpaw was lazy when it came to helping his sister, but they still shared a good bond.

As Silverpaw sniffed for more prey, Ashpaw stopped by the river to fish and he meowed over his shoulder, "That fish won't get away this time. Just watch this, Silverpaw. I'll get this fish much quicker than you can say 'mouse.'"

Silverpaw snorted with impatience and thought to herself, _Ashpaw is a good hunter, but I wish he wasn't that cocky!_ So she turned away from her bragging brother, only to see the silver form of a salmon leaping toward the distant waterfall.

Taking a deep breath, she then planted her paws to the snowy ground and flicked her tail toward the water. The next thing she knew, the water began to ripple and the large salmon flew upwards out of the water and landed onto the shore. She picked the fish up and sprang toward her brother, and she began yowling through a mouthful of salmon.

_From the day we arrive on the planet_

_And blinking, step into the sun_

_There's more to see than can ever be seen_

_More to do than can ever be done_

"Ashpaw, look! I caught one!"

"Clam up, Silverpaw. You'll make me lose it!" Ashpaw muttered as he licked his lips. "I can already feel my teeth in that fish."

"No, seriously! I caught a salmon!"

But while Silverpaw dashed over to Ashpaw, she tripped on a small pebble and the salmon flew out of her jaws, slapped her brother in the face with its tail, and died right on the spot. While she was falling, she had let out a yowl of surprise as the salmon shot out of her jaws. When she got up, she saw him stand over her with frustration in his pale eyes as he growled down at her.

"Silverpaw, why the hell is that when I take you fishing with me, you use your psychic powers to get me wet?"

Silverpaw bit back a mean retort. Instead, she meowed, "It's not psychic powers, mouse-brain. It's called _WaterBending_. And they-"

"-help us wildcats survive in any kind of ecosystem and blah, blah, blah," Ashpaw interrupted his sister in a bored tone. "Look, I'm not the one who wastes time when they feed the Clan. And I'd keep my weird powers to myself if I were you."

"_I'm _the one wasting time and being weird?" Silverpaw then purred, "Well, _I'm_ not the one who flexes their shoulders in the water."

That was true, for Ashpaw had been at the river's edge, flexing his muscles that partly stuck out under his dark gray pelt. He could be such a vain and bossy cat sometimes.

Suddenly, while Ashpaw and Silverpaw were talking, a white-furred fox had snuck up behind them and snatched the fish up. The moment Silverpaw caught the fox creeping away, it raced off like the speed of light. The fox ignored their warning yowls as it raced off with the fish dangling in its jaws.

She could feel Ashpaw running behind her as she chased the fox down and sliced at its tail as it squeezed through a crack in a glacier. But it left something behind: the end half of the fish and some fur in between her claws.

As she picked it up, she saw her brother stalk angrily toward her, snarling, mockingly, "Wow, that was some good moves there...for a wimp! Looks like you don't need my tracking skills, then!"

Silverpaw threw the fish tail onto the ground angrily; what was Ashpaw complaining about now? So she retorted, "What about your tracking skills? You smell like a shithead!"

**(Author's Note: Figure this pun out.)**

Ashpaw countered angrily, "Why didn't you _WaterBend _the fish away from the fox, then?" He said Bend as if it had just bitten him in the tail.

"So it's MY fault we lost part of our prey?" Silverpaw growled.

"I _knew_ I should've left you back at camp! Leave it to a she-cat to make things Hell in the Clan!" he spat.

That did it; Silverpaw had enough of Ashpaw's stubbornness, laziness, and sexist comments. Ever since their mother was gone, she had been doing all of the hard work in the Clan like raising the kits and catching the prey, but Ashpaw was just lazing around like a fat badger. If Seamist or Emberstar were to see their son's laziness and their daughter's determination at work, they would be disappointed in him and proud of her.

But she still couldn't believe that Ashpaw had just growled that sentence in her face.

So she fluffed up her fur until she looked bigger than the other apprentice and yowled very loudly, _"YOU ARE THE MOST MOUSE-BRAINED, MOST RUDE, MOST LAZY...I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M EVEN YOUR LITTERMATE!"_

She seemed to notice Ashpaw's pale blue eyes widen with fear as she yowled on, _"EVER SINCE OUR MOTHER WAS KILLED, I"VE BEEN DOING ALL THE APPRENTICES' TASKS WHILE YOU WERE GOOFING OFF LIKE A STUPID KIT! I'M SICK AND TIRED OF CLEANING ALL THE NESTS BY MYSELF! ASHPAW, HAVE YOU EVEN SMELT YOUR OWN FILTHY NEST? LET ME TELL YOU, IT'S DIRTY AND NASTY!"_

"Uh, Silverpaw..." Ashpaw began, but Silverpaw didn't listen.

"_NO,_ YOU _LISTEN, YOU FOX-HEARTED IDIOT! I'M SICK OF YOU LAZING AROUND, SO YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN! DO YOU HEAR ME? I..."_

"SILVERPAW, BEHIND YOU!" Ashpaw's yowl finally made her stop and she turned around with shock on her face.

In front of the two cats, in the river, was an enormous white stone that had appeared right out of nowhere. But Silverpaw realized that while she had been screeching at Ashpaw, she had enough power to summon a giant iceberg out of the water.

_There's far too much to take in here_

_More to find than can ever be found_

_But the sun rolling high_

_Through the sapphire sky_

_Keeps great and small on the endless round_

While the two cats watched, Ashpaw meowed with no sarcasm, "Wow. That was...awesome."

"I did that?" Silverpaw was amazed.

"Yep," Ashpaw replied. "You went from weird to freaky. Congrats, Silverpaw."

Just then, the stone began to glow a pure white color and for some reason, Silverpaw wanted to get a closer look. She had never seen an iceberg glow like that before and she was very curious. So she began to pad forward, careful to not fall into the icy water or she could freeze and develop hypothermia.

As she padded forth, she meowed over her shoulder, "Come on, Ashpaw. Let's check it out."

"Silverpaw, get back here! You don't know where it's been!" Ashpaw hissed, but Silverpaw ignored him.

When they got near the stone, she saw the stone glow again; squinting in the harsh white light, Silverpaw continued to study the stone. But when she narrowed her eyes for a better look, she saw the figure of a cat trapped inside. There was a bigger mass right beside it, but Silverpaw had no idea what that was.

But the cat was more important.

"Great StarClan! We've got to get it out!"

She lunged for a nearby badger bone, grabbed it in her jaws, and started to whack the stone with it, causing cracks to appear in the middle. Ashpaw just sat there, watching with awe, as his sister kept lashing the bone out at the white stone.

As Silverpaw slammed the bone harder, suddenly she was hit by a blast of air that smelled like mountains and pine forests. A bright white light swiftly burst through the atmosphere, making nearby penguins squawk with fright.

_StarClan, what's happening here?_

**...**

Meanwhile, out on a ship at sea, a dark brown tabby tom was irritably pacing around the deck. The scar on his left eye was very clear but he can still see out of his injured amber eye. When he looked up, he saw a bright white light beaming up toward the heavens and, with a growl, turned to his uncle, a fat gray tabby cat with amber eyes.

But the uncle was busy playing some sort of game.

"I found him," he rasped gruffly before turning to the cat behind him. "Uncle Irontail, do you know what that light means?"

Irontail glanced up at the sky for a few seconds, then looked back down, muttering, "That means I stop playing this game?"

The tabby tom growled, "No. It means I finally found the Avatar Cat. Moons of hunting him down have come to an end. My honor will finally be restored with glory."

"But Bearclaw, that light is probably one of those colorful auroras, though it's rare to see them during the day. We've gone down this path before, my nephew: do not get excited over nothing." After explaining, Irontail nudged a bowl of cream forward and meowed, "Here. Calm yourself down with some refreshing Chinese cream."

"I don't need your damn cream!" Bearclaw snapped, smashing the bowl aside with a large paw, the cream turning his paws white. "I need to capture the Avatar Cat! Helms-cat!" he turned to the helms-cat. "Head for the light! Now!"

The gray helms-cat nodded, mewed and sprinted away to the wheel of the ship. Then the boat headed for the light, with Bearclaw thinking, _I finally found the Avatar Cat. I found him at last._

**...**

Meanwhile, back at WaterClan, the two WaterClan cats were watching with awe as the stone opened up and a small-looking cat stepped out to the top of the stone. Silverpaw watched as the glowing effect stopped and she saw the cat's pelt; it was a golden cat and it smelled like a tom, which he was. She also saw a strange white arrow stripe running from his head to his tail and arrow stripes on his legs and paws.

Silverpaw had never seen a cat like that before. What Clan could he be from?

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Silverpaw was astounded at the colors on this cat's pelt. She had never such a cat like this; plus, she had never seen such strange markings on a cat before, either. Right beside her, Ashpaw was glaring at him, clearly seeing nothing but an enemy. But as the two cats watched, the tom closed his glowing eyes and fell off of the stone.

"Oh no!" Silverpaw mewed. "He needs help!"

She bounded over to the golden cat in a few rabbit-leaps and began licking him to wake him up. Ashpaw started poking him with the badger bone, which made Silverpaw growl at him as if to say "Stop it!" And she saw the young golden cat open his eyes, which were a stormy dark gray.

**...**

_It's the Circle of Life_

_And it moves us all_

_The young golden cat opened his eyes after he felt a tongue lap at his pelt. When he woke up, he was staring up at the face of a young and beautiful silver she-cat with stunning dark blue eyes._

_Through despair and hope_

_Through faith and love_

**...**

The silver she-cat heard the tom whisper, "Come closer. I need to tell you something..."

"What is it? What do you need? I'll get it for you."

His eyes began to close as he rasped on, "Would...would you..." But suddenly, his gray eyes fully opened as he meowed quickly, "Would you like to ride seals with me?"

Silverpaw was astonished at his quickly recovery and just replied, "Um, okay. I guess..."

The golden tom leaped to his paws and began to lick the snow off of him. When he was done, he meowed, "Wow. I've been asleep for...how many hours now? Where am I?"

"You're in WaterClan territory." That was Ashpaw, who stalked forward with a suspicious air about him. To Silverpaw, he growled, "We need to see Rainbreeze about him."

Silverpaw, ignoring her brother, gave the fish-tail to the golden cat and mewed, "Here you go. You can have this fish. I know we have to feed our Clan first, but you must be starving." Then she backed away as he began to wolf down the salmon.

But suddenly, she heard a mighty roar coming from the White Stone and she squeaked with fear, "What was that?"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot!" The golden cat stopped eating and turned to leap back into the stone. Then she heard him yowl happily, "Archie!"

When Silverpaw saw him come out, she saw something that made her leap back with fright. A large white furry dragon was slowly following him out of the white stone cavern. It had a dog-like face, a black arrow stripe running from his head to his tail, and deep brown eyes.

**(AvatarCat09: You know that dragon from the Never Ending Story movies? Well, that's what this dragon looks like. And I don't own that movie, either. Never have, never will.)**

When the dragon leaped after its master, Ashpaw mewed, "What the hell is that thing?"

The golden cat replied, "This is Archie, my flying dragon. He's an Asian Lung Dragon."

"Right. Good one, stranger," Ashpaw meowed sarcastically. Pointing his tail to Silverpaw, he went on, "And this is Silverpaw, my chatting sister. She's a WaterClan cat" That little remark made Silverpaw growl a little at him.

She then wanted to know who this cat was, and she wanted to ask him. But he asked her, "So who are you?"

"Don't answer this dumbass, Silverpaw! You just saw that light moments ago!" Ashpaw snapped, stepping between the two cats. "He could be a FireClan apprentice for all we know, spying on us!"

"Yeah, sure," Silverpaw snidely commented, not believing her littermate. "You can see the evil glare in his gaze." She took the chance to look at the weird tom, who was just smiling in a goofy way back at her as if he didn't hear what Ashpaw said. "Don't listen to him; he's just being...you know...Ashpaw," she meowed to him. "And I'm Silverpaw. What's your name?"

He started to say, "I'm...I'm..." But he stopped because he let out a large sneeze..._and flew ten tail-lengths into the air._

The silver she-cat and her Clanmate were astonished; they had never seen a cat jump that high before. Not even SkyClan cats from the ancient Clans could jump that high; even WindClan didn't jump high. Before they could say anything else, he landed back onto the snowy ground and finished his introduction.

"I'm Goldpaw."

Ashpaw couldn't believe it either, but not in the way his sister did. He rasped, "Did you see what you did? You jumped ten tail-lengths into the air!"

"That's weird, "Goldpaw meowed. "Usually, it's higher than that."

"Wait a minute," Silverpaw mewed. "You're an AirClan cat!"

"AirClan _apprentice_, actually," Goldpaw corrected her playfully.

But that seemed to rub Ashpaw's fur the wrong way. He turned his back on them and growled, "Great. This is just great. Flying golden cats, dragons, glowing stones! I've had too much fresh-kill. I'm going back to camp, where things are normal."

"Well, I can give you guys a lift if you're stuck," Goldpaw meowed.

That comment left Silverpaw meowing, "Yes, please! We'd love to have a ride!" and Ashpaw growling, "No way. I'm not getting on that strange white thing!" When he said that, he turned to glare at Archie, who just gave a loud yawn.

Goldpaw didn't retort; he looked too friendly to start an argument with another cat, even over fresh-kill or rides like this. So instead, he meowed, "Okay. Just watch out for foxes."

Ashpaw was about to argue that he won't get on, but Silverpaw found that Goldpaw was right; Ashpaw could get taken by a fox. Ashpaw seemed to know already, because the gray tom gave up and joined his sister into climbing onto Archie.

But before Ashpaw leaped onto Archie, the dragon let out a loud sneeze and covered him in dragon phlegm. This made him grumble "Stupid mucus animal."

When everyone was on board, Goldpaw turned to them and declared, "Okay, everybody. Dig your claws into a clump of fur, because get ready for one heck of a ride!" To Archie, he called, "Yip yip!"

Archie began to rise into the air, ready for liftoff. Silverpaw felt excitement fill her like water filling a lake. _This is going to be fun!_ she thought.

But that was all too soon, for Archie then fell into the river and began to swim upriver to the WaterClan camp. Even though this wasn't flying, however, it felt nice to ride on something that was moving slowly and smoothly.

"Great. That was one HECK of a ride." Ashpaw sounded quite blasé.

Silverpaw aimed a glare over her shoulder at her annoying littermate. But Goldpaw spoke up, "Don't be mad. Archie just needs some little rest, that's all! Then he'll soar to the sky and fly like an eagle!"

**(Author's Note: Get it? It's from the song Fly Like An Eagle.)**

But while he finished talking, he was still looking over his shoulder at Silverpaw with some kind of friendliness...or even more than that. This made her a little uneasy since she wasn't used to being stared at like that.

"Um, Goldpaw, why are you looking at me like that?" she meowed.

"Huh? Oh, damn it," he hissed, seeing this mistake. "Was I staring at you? Sorry." With that, he whipped around to keep an eye on the river.

Silverpaw then heard her brother say "Blah" for some odd reason.

**...**

_Till we find our place_

_On the path unwinding_

Sometime later at dusk, while Ashpaw was sleeping, Silverpaw decided to tell Goldpaw about if he knew about the Avatar Cat, the supposed savior of all cats in the world. But the Avatar Cat had disappeared, even though this cat could know about the Avatar Cat. This subject came up in her head, just thinking about if he or she would return one day.

So she jumped up to Archie's head and landed next to Goldpaw, who was looking out across the frozen sea. She mewed a little greeting, "Hey, Goldpaw."

"Oh hey, Silverpaw," Goldpaw meowed. He turned about and his face told her he wasn't startled by her voice. "You want something?"

"Actually, I wanted to ask you about the Avatar Cat, the master of all four Clans. Have you heard about him?" she replied.

For an odd reason, she saw Goldpaw flinch when she said "Avatar Cat" and he glanced over his shoulder quickly. Then he turned back and whispered back, "Maybe. I've only heard about him. I've never met him in person, but I really did hear about him."

Silverpaw huffed with disappointment so she went to join Ashpaw in sleeping, but not before telling Goldpaw, "Oh, okay then. Just asking, that's all. Good night, Goldpaw."

"Good night."

But when she turned around to get a nap, she failed to notice the look of guilt on his face.

_In the Circle_

_The Circle of Life_

**...**

Back at the FireClan ship, Bearclaw was still prowling around the deck. He was very tired, but not with sleepiness, but with impatience. _When will the Avatar Cat show himself?_ That thought began to itch at his fur in a tick-like way. The dark brown tabby began to nibble a little at the itchy spot to keep himself awake, but this didn't keep him for worrying about catching the Avatar Cat.

He heard a yawn behind him and turned to see Irontail pad to him saying, "Time to get to my nest. Yep. A cat needs a little catnap sometimes." He purred at his little joke, but he stopped when he saw a look on his nephew's face.

"Listen to me, Bearclaw, you really need some sleep. There's a very little chance you'll ever find the Avatar Cat like the other leaders of the FireClan. Your father failed, your grandfather failed, and even your great-grandfather failed. What makes you think you're up to the task?"

"Those bastards failed because their honor doesn't depend on finding the Avatar Cat." Bearclaw paused to spit proudly before going on, "But I, however, have been trained hard to search for distant scents. I've had good training."

Irontail purred a little at Bearclaw's words, and then he turned around back to his nest below the deck. Bearclaw was left staring over the water, hoping to find a ray of hope over the horizon.

**...**

Silverpaw woke up beside her new-found friend in the snowy apprentices' den. She could feel his short fur feeling warm next to her, making her feel quite relaxed. But as she stretched her legs forward, she suddenly felt Goldpaw twitch beside her. She whipped around to see him squirming in his sleep.

_He must be having a dream,_ she thought. But Silverpaw could see he was having a bad dream and she didn't want his bad dream prevent him from waking him up.

"Goldpaw. GOLDPAW!" Silverpaw yowled, using her front paws to shake him out of his sleep. "Goldpaw, wake up!"

At once, the golden AirClan apprentice opened his eyes slowly, mumbling, "What...what's going on?"

Silverpaw was relieved when Goldpaw woke up from his bad dream and meowed, "It's time for you to meet my Clan. They're outside doing some chores. Come on!" She started to pad to the entrance of the apprentices' den.

"In a minute, Silverpaw," Goldpaw replied.

As soon as he finished, he began to groom the long fur on his legs. As Silverpaw watched him, she noticed the long fur quickly falling away from his leg and onto the ground. Instead of just bushy legs, she saw shorter-pelted legs with white arrow stripes on his legs.

_Those look like the arrow marking on his head!_ Silverpaw guessed, gasping in wonder.

And without another word, she playfully grabbed him by the scruff in her jaws and pulled him outside to meet the rest of the Clan.

The clearing had a lot of snow on the ground just like outside the camp with a few trees scattered around it. And there were several cats out there which were mainly queens, elders, the medicine cat (a brown-gray tabby she-cat named Sleetpelt), and kits. There were no warriors, apprentices, deputy, or even the leader in the camp for right now. Silverpaw could remember when her father, Emberstar, left to fight FireClan, for he left just after she and Ashpaw were made apprentices.

Some queens were watching their kits play when they noticed Goldpaw padding with Silverpaw right in the center of the camp. They let out a call to bring all the other Clan cats to the clearing for a meeting. Remembering what to do, Silverpaw cleared her throat and nudged Goldpaw to the cats, starting the introduction.

"Goldpaw, this is the entire WaterClan camp." Waving her tail to her Clanmate, she mewed to them, "Entire camp, meet Goldpaw."

All of a sudden, the cats gasped and their eyes were wide with wonder as they leaned forward to take a better look at him. The kits looked from behind their mothers' legs to see this brand new wonder in front of them.

Goldpaw, who had nodded to them at first, let out an indignant meow. "What? Did Archie sneeze on me? Is that why everyone's staring at me like this?"

"No, that's not the reason." An old dark gray she-cat, her muzzle pale gray with age, stepped out of the crowd. This was Rainbreeze, the grandmother of Silverpaw and Ashpaw and mother to Emberstar. Ever since Emberstar left, the elderly WaterClan she-cat was left in charge. "They're staring at you, for they haven't seen an AirClan cat in moons. But I thought they became extinct until my grandkits have found you."

"Ex-extinct?" Goldpaw mewled with shock and horror. "What the hell?"

"Language, Goldpaw. Mind your language around the kits," Rainbreeze rebuked him calmly.

She was now gesturing toward the kits, who were leaping at a stick in the snow. But Ashpaw had arrived to shoo the kits away, snapping at a gray tortoiseshell & white she-kit, "Aspenkit, get away from that!"

Shaking with shock at someone yelling at her, Aspenkit nodded and ran back with her friends and littermates back to their mothers. Silverpaw could hear the queens mutter something like apprentices being rude to kits these days.

As soon as the kits got away, Ashpaw poked the stick with his paw. "Hey, what's this stick? Is it a weapon to cut off a cat's head?"

Silverpaw heard Goldpaw purr, "Nope. Sorry, Ashpaw, but I don't use it for fighting. I use it for Bending. Watch this!"

With a flick of his paw, the stick suddenly sprouted some weird kind of membrane she would normally see on a bat in the night sky. But bats were rare around the Southern territory; Seamist used to tell her stories about other animals beyond their home.

Goldpaw nudged the stick onto his back and small hooks grabbed his pelt so that he couldn't fall off. As soon as that was done, he beckoned for every cat to stay clear, and they backed away. As he ran through the middle of the Clan, he jumped so high he took off through the air like a bald eagle.

"Cool!" Aspenkit was squealing while the kits gathered around a large husky dog opening one eye drowsily. "Magic trick!"

And Ashpaw was yowling, "Last time I checked, cats can't fly!"

Silverpaw was astounded yet excited at the same time as Goldpaw glanced down to her. This was much more awesome than seeing a real bird fly: a cat flying with a stick. It couldn't get better than that...if he hadn't lost control and crashed into a large mound of snow.

The snow then fell on top of Goldpaw, making Ashpaw bawl with anguish.

"No! My watch tower! You ruined my watch tower! Silverpaw, get him out of there! Now!"

With a snort, Silverpaw managed to dig the young AirClan cat out of the snow and licked him rapidly to warm him up. But Goldpaw waved her off by saying, "I'm okay, Silverpaw. Don't worry about me."

"Well, I loved your gliding act," she purred, helping her new friend up onto his paws.

"That's really great! You can both Bend; he can AirBend and she can WaterBend! Now you two get to waste time all you like," Ashpaw growled as he shook the snow off of his fur and stalked away.

"You're a WaterBender? I didn't know," Goldpaw mewed to Silverpaw, who felt that she should have given him a hint about it. Now she felt she should explain.

"I am. But not yet."

Rainbreeze then gathered all the cats together and meowed, "All right, everyone. It's time to get some chores done." All the other cats, except for her and Silverpaw, nodded and set off in split directions to do their duties for their Clan.

Silverpaw padded up to her grandmother and mewed with delight, "See, Grandma? I told you a mentor would come! Now he'll teach me how to WaterBend!"

When she said that, she turned to Silverpaw with worry in her old sapphire eyes as she mewed, "Silverpaw, don't get too fanatical about our guest. He may be young but he came from another Clan. Plus, he doesn't seem to be one to WaterBend."

"Don't worry, Grandma. I'm not too obsessed. But he's special, and I bet he's filled with so much wisdom," Silverpaw insisted, thinking her grandmother was fully convinced.

But she was not as convinced as the next cat as she glanced at Goldpaw. The golden tom's red tongue was stuck to a frozen puddle of water just for the fun of it. Rainbreeze just shook her head and padded away.

**...**

"Again."

Bearclaw swiped his paw at the brown tom passing by. His opponent whirled around at him with a snarl and leaped at him, his claws blazing with fire while Bearclaw himself pounced at the tom, his fangs shining with fire. The two toms began to tear at one another with flames close to them, though not too viciously.

"Enough! I need to talk to you about your fighting skills."

Irontail was watching the battle practice with a wary amber eye as he had watched his nephew and another FireClan warrior practice their Flaming Slash and Fire Fang attacks on one another.

He nudged Bearclaw away from the training and meowed, "Bearclaw, the power of FireBending comes not from the muscles, but from the breath within. Your breath turns into energy while it remains in your body and the energy passes through your legs and jaws to become...fire." He set up a little display for his nephew by making a jet of flame shoot out of his mouth and into the air.

"I'm tired of waiting, Uncle! Teach me the advanced moves, and I'll teach you I'm more than ready to capture the Avatar Cat!" Bearclaw's reply was snappish and impatient as he barked out the order.

"You're too impatient, Bearclaw. You need more time to learn the basics of FireBending. Try again," he demanded. He waved his tail for more warriors to practice their battle moves.

At that, Bearclaw snarled loudly and leaped at them, his body burning aflame as he began to spin around. The fire began to expand at the warriors leaping at the young dark tabby tom. One of the flames caught a large gray cat and knocked him to the ground while another flame blew a black-&- brown tabby tom away and made him hit the side of the cabin. The rest of the cats were swept off their paws and fell to the ground, spitting and panting with exhaustion.

Bearclaw turned back to his uncle, who let out another cross sigh, and growled, "The elders have told us the Avatar Cat is the last AirClan cat and he must be around fourteen years old, which is old for a cat. He's had all those moons to master all the four elements. I told you I can do this and you're the only one who can teach me those attacks." When Irontail didn't reply at first, Bearclaw added more menacingly, "You WILL teach me the advanced attacks!"

It took ten seconds for Irontail to reply, but he finally muttered, "Very well. I shall teach you several advanced moves I know. But first, I must finish my salmon fillet," he added sheepishly.

At this, he began to wolf his dinner down, ignoring the confusion on Bearclaw's scarred face.

**...**

"Okay, kits of WaterClan. Your parents, but generally your fathers, are out there in the world battling enemy warriors on the battlefield. But they need you to train hard and become seasoned warriors, defending the camp until the last tom stands. So today, we'll make this our first day of training, and today, we'll learn the 'roll and leap' technique. Do you kits have any questions?"

Ashpaw had woken up early in the morning and gathered the kits so they would defend the camp when they need to defend the camp from invaders like FireClan. But Silverpaw thought that was rather needless because rule five in the Warrior Code was that kits have to be six moons old to become apprentices. But Ashpaw was doing this much better than Brokenstar of ShadowClan, who actually _killed_ kits from his own Clan by forcing them to train too early.

None of the kits spoke up for five seconds until one gray tabby-&-white kit raised his paws in the air. "I gotta go pee."

The dark gray tabby tom snorted with impatience as he snapped, "Listen to me, kits. Your fathers are out there fighting for our lives and all you do is ask for a restroom break? We're fixing to do some training here! And that means _no restroom breaks."_

"But I _really_ gotta go."

Ashpaw sighed and mumbled, "Okay, fine. Does anyone else need to take a break to make their dirt?" And to Silverpaw's amusement, while she was watching the entire time, all the kits raised their paws, leaving her brother to sigh again.

Remembering what she was going to do, she padded over and meowed, "Hey, Ashpaw, have you seen Goldpaw anywhere? I haven't seen him since I woke up."

While Ashpaw shrugged, looking unconcerned, Silverpaw saw the kits race over to the rocks where the cats went to make their dirt in peace. Coming out of the rocks and surrounded by kits was Goldpaw.

"Wow! Everything freezes on those rocks!" That comment made the kits roll about on the snow, laughing.

Ashpaw shook his head and growled, "Silverpaw, get that cat away from the training area. This is supposed to be for _training_, not damn _playing around_."

Silverpaw didn't move; instead, she then heard squeals of happiness come from the kits' playing area. Archie was lying on the ground with his belly to the snow while the kits played together on his back. Some of them were romping around on him, while other kits were using him like a slide and Silverpaw couldn't help but laugh when she watched them land softly onto the soft snow.

However, Ashpaw wasn't amused; instead he looked frustrated at the golden tom's laid-back attitude as he stalked over to him. "Stop! Stop fooling around right now! What the hell do you think you're doing with the kits? They're supposed to be training! Not playing in this war!"

"What war are you talking about, Ashpaw? We're just having fun, that's all!" Goldpaw mewed.

Silverpaw nodded and added, "We could always have a little fun every now and then. What harm could that do?"

"You're pulling my tail, aren't you?" Ashpaw retorted, giving Goldpaw a skeptical glare.

But the AirClan apprentice didn't seem to hear him. Instead his ears were twitching and his eyes were narrowing as if he was staring at something like a three-legged fox. Then his next yowl took them both by surprise:

"SEAL!"

Silverpaw and Ashpaw gave him a confused glance, and Silverpaw twisted her neck around to see what Goldpaw was yowling about. A chubby gray elephant seal was watching them with a wary look. Then it gave a sharp bark before waddling off toward the beach where their mother took them when they were young kits.

"You have got to be kidding me," Ashpaw muttered as Goldpaw and Silverpaw ran off to the beach to see the seals in their breeding time.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

When Goldpaw and Silverpaw arrived at the beach, Silverpaw was surprised to see how many seals had crowded at their usual breeding areas. Silverpaw knew that WaterClan cats could take a juvenile seal as prey but not the pups. A few warriors could take down a large seal, just not when breeding season has come.

While she was thinking, she didn't notice Goldpaw running off. "Goldpaw?" she called over the crowd of seals. "Where are you?"

"Come on, seals! You wanna ride?"

She heard Goldpaw's voice as she turned to see the golden tom pounce playfully at a small group of seals. He landed on the back of one of the biggest seals Silverpaw has ever seen. The silver she-cat felt fear for his safety flow through her body as the seal raised up as if it was going to land on its back to crush Goldpaw. But it just bucked him off like a horse throwing a predator off its back.

Goldpaw hit the snow with a soft thud, unhurt, and looked up at Silverpaw. He stood up, shook the snow out of his fur, and meowed to her happily, "I have a way with non-cats, if you see what I mean."

Silverpaw purred in agreement as Goldpaw chased after the seals while sliding on his belly and making barking sounds like the seals make. Then she had a good idea, and now was the chance. "Hey, Goldpaw. If you'll teach me to WaterBend, I'll teach you how to ride a seal."

The AirClan cat was grabbing onto the back flippers of a seal with his teeth, but he let go to join Silverpaw and meowed, "No problem!" But more than a few heartbeats later, "...actually, there is a problem. You see, I'm an AirClan cat and I only know AirBending. Maybe there's a cat in your Clan who can teach you that?"

"There isn't any other here," Silverpaw murmured sadly, turning away from him. "I'm the only WaterBender in this southern Clan."

"Shit. I should've known," Goldpaw cursed. "You should have a mentor to teach you that. What about the Northern WaterClan? They could have mentors to help you out."

Silverpaw turned back to face hi; she felt she wanted to escape from this life of boredom and have adventures. But something else was bothering her: she couldn't leave her Clan behind. If she left right now, there would only be one cat.

So she carefully meowed "I probably can. But our two Clans haven't met for moons. It's a long way away, not right around a few seals here."

Goldpaw retorted playfully, "Don't you forget I have a dragon who can fly us there! We're gonna find you a mentor!"

This cheered Silverpaw up a bit and was about to say something happy to him, but that happy feeling turned to worry. She has been with her Clan for eight moons of her life and she didn't want to give up her warrior training. Besides, Rainbreeze and her Clan would need her help if times of danger came around. What if FireClan turned up and killed someone else she loved?

So she mewed with worry, "I haven't left home before and...I just don't know right now." She sat in the snow with one of her paws on her head to think.

Goldpaw seemed to know she was thinking about it because he meowed to her, "Okay, you can think about it. In the meantime, can you teach me to catch a seal and ride it?"

Silverpaw purred to herself. _This kit doesn't know how to give up. He'll be quite a pawful, eh?_

Out loud, in a pretend mentor tone, she meowed, "Okay, my young trainee. Listen up. Catching and riding a seal have been a custom since the dawn of the Clan cats. Now just watch and learn," she added, flinging a piece of fish nearby and flinging it to Goldpaw.

She watched as the seals caught the scent of fish and surrounded Goldpaw, trying to get the fish from under his paws.

Next minute they knew, they were riding down the hills and small mountains of the WaterClan territory on the backs of seals. Both of them were laughing with amusement as they continued to slide down a smooth hill.

As they slid down, Silverpaw called out to Goldpaw, "I've never had this much fun since I was a kit!"

"You're still like a kit! We're all like kits!" Goldpaw responded as they went down a tunnel.

They rode their seals into the long and very wide hollow tunnels nearby, and somehow, Goldpaw got in first place quickly. Silverpaw beamed at him over her shoulder with a lively spirit as the apprentices playfully fought for first place. The seals were sliding from place to place on the icy walls of the tunnels as smoothly as a snail gliding over a rock.

As they finally stopped out in the middle of nowhere and let the seals go to the sea, Silverpaw pressed her muzzle against Goldpaw's ear, meowing softly, "Thanks for the fun. I loved it."

"It's no problem," Goldpaw replied, though Silverpaw saw a bit of scarlet appear on his cheeks. Then he jumped away, meowing, "What's that thing?"

Silverpaw gasped and mewed, "It's a FireClan ship, and it's already left horrible memorial scars on my Clan." When, to her dismay, she saw him pad to it, she moaned, "Goldpaw, get the hell away from there! We can't go near it! It could have traps!"

The young cat turned toward her and reassured her, "You wanna be a Bending cat, right? Well, here's your chance. One way to becoming a warrior is to put your fear behind you."

Silverpaw knew her grandmother warned her to stay away from anything that was FireClan, but she didn't want to be scared anymore. She wanted to try and be a new cat, brave and willing to fight for her Clan, not hide behind bushes or ice. So, giving a sigh, she padded in after Goldpaw.

**...**

The inside of the ship was very dark gray like a humpback whale's hide; there was also a stale scent of FireClan in the atmosphere. Everywhere Goldpaw and Silverpaw went in the ship, there seemed to be an aura of menace that followed them no matter what. They could also see several mice run around here and there in the rooms.

Silverpaw was tempted to catch some mice to eat, but they were too small to bring back to camp. Besides, those mice would only wrinkle tongues, not fill their bellies. Besides, rule three in the Warrior Code stated that apprentices and warriors must feed the Clan before they could eat for themselves.

What was more important right now was to hurry and leave. But she felt torn between letting Goldpaw explore some more and hauling him away from the ship.

Silverpaw padded nervously behind Goldpaw as she whispered, "The presence of this ship has haunted this part of WaterClan territory since Rainbreeze was a kit. That was from some of the first attacks FireClan has ever launched onto the other Clans."

Goldpaw, who was focused on exploring, whirled around to face her, disbelief on his face. "Hold it, Silverpaw. I have many friends around the world; hell, I even have friends that are FireClan cats. I don't know anything about a war."

"Hey, how long were you asleep in that White Stone?" Silverpaw asked him, realization hitting her like a badger's paw.

"Just a few days, I suppose," Goldpaw answered her with confusion in his mew.

Silverpaw thought it wasn't really the answer. _It has to be a lot more than that,_ she decided. "To me, it seems like fourteen years!" she meowed out loud.

She didn't expect Goldpaw's reaction because he looked a little angry for the first time. "You're bluffing! What am I to you, a fourteen-year-old tom? That's too old for an apprentice!"

"Forgive me, Goldpaw, but just think about it. The War has been over fourteen years old and the reason you don't know the war is because you've been in that stone for moons," she explained to him.

Goldpaw suddenly walked over to a beam that was holding the ship up and began to bang his head on it. Worried he would hurt himself, Silverpaw grabbed him by the scruff and pulled him away. The golden tom sunk to the floor, blood dripping out of a cut on his forehead from the head-banging and his gray eyes dull with awareness.

She didn't want him to hurt himself some more, so she settled down beside him as she comforted him. But that still didn't seem to cheer him up from this mood.

"Damn it. I can't believe this," he muttered. "Fourteen years!"

Laying a paw on his forehead to smear the blood away from his face, Silverpaw mewed, "I'm sorry, Goldpaw. Maybe things will get better for you in time."

"Yeah," Goldpaw meowed, standing up and smiling a bit when turning to meet her blue gaze. "But I'm really glad to meet you. You've become like a best friend to me, even though we met only the day before."

Goldpaw seemed to feel better, Silverpaw decided as she purred and smiled at him. Her new friend was back to normal and that was all that mattered right now. "Come on, Goldpaw. Let's get out of this deathtrap. It's really creepy in here, anyways."

But as Goldpaw padded outward to the exit of the room, the sirens suddenly went off and were loud enough to wake polar bears from hibernation. And a gate slid to the front and planted itself in front of the two cats, who ran to it and helplessly began to claw at it.

"Silverpaw?"

"Yes, Goldpaw?"

"What did you say about traps?"

Before she could answer, a hiss echoed from outside and they heard exploding from outside. The two apprentices looked out the window to see a blast of red light in the air, burning brightly like the sun itself.

Gulping, Goldpaw looked up at a hole in the ceiling and meowed to Silverpaw, "Get on my back, Silverpaw! I'll get us out! Trust me!"

_What will happen if we stayed longer?_ Silverpaw didn't want to stay around to find out, so she gingerly laid herself onto Goldpaw's back as limply as moss.

The golden cat then pushed with all his might against the floor and jumped through the hole with the silver she-cat still on his back, who gasped with surprise. She was amazed he didn't stagger even once under her heavier weight. Then he leaped down from the ship in a few more bounds and let Silverpaw slide off his back. When this was done, both cats sprinted back to the camp as quickly as they could.

But they were being watched.

**...**

"I found him. The Last AirClan Cat," Bearclaw hissed softly. He was watching them through a telescope for any movements on the horizon. "He's quite swift despite being old. Wake up my uncle Irontail," he ordered to a pale gray tabby cat on guard.

"Why, sir?"

Bearclaw growled, "Tell him I found the Avatar Cat." He took one more glance at the Avatar Cat and the shape of another cat running toward a shelter of trees. "And I also know now where he's hiding."

_To be continued..._

**...**

**AvatarCat09: Well, that's one episode down and sixty more to go. I can't believe I finished the revised chapter of the first episode ever!**

**Aang: I still don't like the parts about my cat form cursing.**

**Katara: What does it look like to you? Is this Nickelodeon? Nope, it's FanFiction.**

**AvatarCat11: Anyways, I'm finished with this episode and next episode is "The Avatar Cat Returns". But first, anyone who reviews this chapter will receive virtual cookies with red, white, and blue frosting. That's to honor Veteran's Day, which is tomorrow.**

**Next summary: Goldpaw is discovered by Bearclaw, but how will this encounter go off? Will Silverpaw come up with a way to save him, or will she be too late?**

**AvatarCat09, Katara, and Aang: See ya next time! And Happy early Veteran's Day!**


	3. Avatar Cat Theme 2

**AvatarCat11: This is NOT the next episode; it's just a little theme like the first one and it'll be repeated for almost all the seasons. Just remember that, all right?**

**Katara: I know. And I know it's going to be Veteran's Day tomorrow, you know? But what about the other chapters?**

**AvatarCat11: This will be the last chapter I'll upload for the day. But would you like to say the disclaimer?**

**Katara: (Smiles at him) Sure!**

**Disclaimer: AvatarCat11 does not own Avatar: The Last AirBender or Warrior Cats and their plots. But he's altering them on this story for a new twist!**

**Updating Date: November 10, 2011**

**AvatarCat11 and Katara: Enjoy!**

**...**

_(Avatar Cat Theme)_

_Water, element of kindness._

_Earth, element of strength._

_Fire, element of passion._

_Air, element of freedom._

_Many moons ago, the four new Clans lived at peace like any other Clan. But one day, everything changed when FireClan, the most aggressive Clan, attacked. Fortunately for other cats, the Avatar Cat, the master of all four Clans, could save them and stop FireClan's rampage. But when all the cats needed him in their darkest hour, he disappeared._

_Moons later, when all seemed lost, my littermate Ashpaw and I, Silverpaw, uncovered from a Stone a new Avatar Cat: an AirClan cat named Goldpaw. His skills and moves are beyond belief and full of power, but he has to learn a lot of lessons before he can rescue any cat._

_But I still believe that Goldpaw can save our world._

**...**

**AvatarCat11: Short, eh?**

**Katara: Yeah, it is. But it's just the prologue for all the episodes to come.**

**AvatarCat11: Good! Fifty points to Gryffindor.**

**Katara: But we don't go to Hogwarts. Harry Potter does, though.**

**AvatarCat11: Speaking of that, he may come by shortly. Also, here's a virtual cookie. It's chocolate chip.**

**Katara: (Puts the cookie in a jar) Thanks! (To the readers) Read and review, please. If you do, you could receive virtual ice cream bowls with any flavor you'd like.**

**Toph: (Pops into the office suddenly) And if not, then screw you, guys! I'll go home!**

**AvatarCat11: Whatever helps you sleep at night.**

**AvatarCat11, Katara, and Toph: See ya next time!**


	4. The Avatar Cat Returns

**AvatarCat11: Well, today's Veteran's Day, but I'm not going to the Veteran's Day parade. I've got stuff to work on in my room. But to those who are veterans or have/had veteran relatives, I salute to you guys.**

**Katara: And we thank those people for fighting for their country and for freedom. May they be blessed with good times to come.**

**AvatarCat11: (Stares at her in awe) Wow. I had no idea you were so deep into this.**

**Katara: My dad helped out in the war against the Fire Nation. So I know what Veteran's Day is like. How about fanfic meister say this disclaimer? I'm sure he'd like to say it.**

**fanfic meister: (Walks into the room) Sure! It's been a while since I said it.**

**Disclaimer: If he ever owned Avatar: The Last AirBender or Warrior Cats, he'd be filthy rich. Plus, the last part from Circle of Life belongs to Disney.**

**Summary: A young FireClan warrior named Bearclaw has tracked Goldpaw down at the camp where Silverpaw and Ashpaw live. Will Goldpaw fend off this intruder?**

**Updating Date: November 11, 2011**

**AvatarCat11, Katara, and fanfic meister: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Avatar Cat Returns_

As Silverpaw and Goldpaw approached the camp, they thought about all that they went through on the FireClan ship. The traps and the red flare of the signal were still in their minds when they came to the entrance where Rainbreeze, Ashpaw, the kits, and the other cats have come to meet up with them. Silverpaw hoped she didn't worry them too much. She was afraid she wouldn't see her Clan ever again.

Immediately, all the kits dashed to Goldpaw and happily tackled him to the ground. Aspenkit crawled onto Goldpaw's chest and mewed, "Goldpaw's back!"

Silverpaw purred as the kits scrambled off of Goldpaw and paraded around him. But her purr was interrupted by a snarl as Ashpaw shoved Goldpaw back onto the ground, not playfully but angrily. As her brother pinned the golden tom to the ground, he growled down at him while his unsheathed claws were at his throat.

"I knew it! You signaled for FireClan to come to us, didn't you, you bastard?" he spat at him.

Watching this, Silverpaw realized this was too far, so she stepped in the middle to let Goldpaw get up. "Ashpaw, it was an accident. He didn't do anything wrong." She could feel the dark gray tom's scornful and fearful pale blue gaze freeze her fur.

"Yeah, Ashpaw," Goldpaw added. "We were on this weird ship and there was a trap, or maybe it was a booby trap and...well..." he went on shyly, shuffling his paws in the snow, "...we boobied right into it."

Silverpaw agreed with him, remembering the alarm bell that would wake up a polar bear from hibernating. The kits were gasping with pure astonishment, but Rainbreeze was shaking her head. Silverpaw wished she would yell at her, for she hated seeing the displeasure in her old blue eyes. This made her feel like a kit all over again.

The old dark gray she-cat rebuked Silverpaw, "Silverpaw, you should've known better than to go onto that dangerous ship. Because of that, we'll all be in danger!"

Silverpaw hung her head in shame and was about to reply when Goldpaw stepped in between his new friend and her grandmother. "Excuse me, but please don't blame Silverpaw! I was the one who brought her there and..." he hung his head in shame "...it's my fault."

"HA! The bastard confesses!" Ashpaw shrieked, turning to the kits. "Warriors-to-be, get away from this traitor!" The kits let out a wail of objection as they backed away from Goldpaw, but Ashpaw cut them off with a snarl, "The rogue is sentenced to exile! He is no longer welcome in our territory!"

"Ashpaw, please stop it! Who died and made you the leader?" Silverpaw snapped. She didn't want her brother to force the AirClan tom out of the area so soon. "You're making a mistake."

The dark gray tabby whirled around to face his sister. "No, Silverpaw. I'm keeping my promise to Emberstar," he growled. "I promised to protect you from all enemies and threats...like this pile of shit!" he added, giving Goldpaw a look of hate.

Pointing her tail to motion at Goldpaw, Silverpaw argued, "He's not an enemy or a threat! Can't you see that, Ashpaw? Goldpaw just brought something to us we all haven't had for moons: fun!"

"Are you mouse-brained, Silverpaw? We can't fight FireClan warriors with fun! It doesn't make any sense!" her brother hissed.

"Come on, you should try it sometime!" Goldpaw mewed, smiling and standing at Silverpaw's side.

That was the wrong thing to do, because Ashpaw shoved him away from his littermate and raked at the air with his claws. "Get out of our Clan right now, rogue! If we ever see you around here again, I'll kill you myself! No questions asked!"

His sister couldn't bear to see Ashpaw treat Goldpaw as if he was really a rogue, for he was just an AirClan apprentice. So she turned to Rainbreeze pleading, "Grandma, please don't let Ashpaw do this! Please!"

But Rainbreeze shook her head again and turned her old blue gaze to her granddaughter. "You knew better to never go on that ship, Silverpaw. Your brother is right; I think it's for the best if the AirClan cat never comes back."

Silverpaw couldn't believe this. Her own grandmother was joining up with Ashpaw in driving Goldpaw out! This wasn't heading the Clan and making wise decisions; this was banishing a harmless cat due to paranoia.

Not wanting to look her in the face, Silverpaw walked away from her and growled, "Fine! Then I'm exiled, too! Come on, Goldpaw!" she added to Goldpaw, who padded after her as they went toward Archie. "We're leaving!"

Suddenly, with a great leap, Ashpaw leaped forward to land in front of them. He growled at Silverpaw, "Where in StarClan's name do you think you're going?"

"We're finding a WaterBender at the Northern WaterClan camp!" Silverpaw spat. "Goldpaw's taking me there!"

"I am?" A look of confusion washed over Goldpaw's face before he then added, "Awesome!"

Silverpaw pushed her brother to the side so they could march on, but Ashpaw suddenly meowed as calmly as he can, "Silverpaw, please stop." The calm in his meow made her stop in her tracks. Then he went on calmly, "Silverpaw, are you really choosing this cat over your own Clan? Even over your own kin?"

What Ashpaw said did make some sense. Was she really going to abandon her own Clan over a tom she knew for over a day? Goldpaw meant no harm in going to that FireClan ship, but she knew she wasn't ready to leave the camp yet. She let her mind sink into thought when Goldpaw padded up to her to rub his fur against hers.

"I don't want to make you put two paws in each world, Silverpaw," he purred. "I'd like it if you stay loyal to your Clan."

He touched her nose with his lightly before Ashpaw shoved him away angrily and he padded to Archie, who bellowed a greeting to his owner. Goldpaw was about to hop onto his dragon when Silverpaw padded to him with sadness in her heart.

"So it's good-bye? You're leaving WaterClan?"

The golden apprentice nodded and meowed, "Yeah, but thanks for seal-riding with me."

"No problem. But where will you go?" Silverpaw asked him.

"I don't know. Maybe I can go back over to the AirClan camp and look for my Clanmates. Great StarClan," he added as he put his paw onto Archie to pull himself up. "I haven't cleaned my nest for fourteen years! I guess I'm not looking forward to that."

He finally leaped onto Archie and meowed to the WaterClan cats, "It was a real pleasure to meet you all."

Silverpaw noticed Ashpaw nudge his way to the front of the cats and retorted, "Okay, let's see you dragon fly now, Airhead."

Silverpaw expected Goldpaw to retort at him, but instead he meowed to Archie, "Go on, buddy! You can do it! Yip yip!" In response, Archie let out a roar and lifted himself off the ground, but he didn't look ready to fly from the ground too soon.

Ashpaw's reaction to that was: "Huh. Thought so."

All of a sudden, Aspenkit burst through the Clan with a mew of sorrow. Silverpaw felt her heart reflect the gray tortoiseshell kit's grief as Aspenkit whimpered, "Please don't go, Goldpaw. We'll miss you."

Goldpaw gave a sad nod and meowed, "Yeah, I'll miss you guys too."

Silverpaw felt sorrow like a breeze ruffle her fur. It wasn't fair that Ashpaw, Rainbreeze, and the other grown cats wanted Goldpaw gone. He didn't do anything wrong! What will they do without him?

She almost began to cry when Goldpaw mewed to his dragon the order to leave and the two of them trudged off in the distance until they weren't seen anymore. She sat down in the snow with the kits wailing as they scampered away and she didn't know what to do now. Her ears flattened with sorrow and her whiskers were quivering as if she was going to cry.

_Why did Goldpaw have to leave?_ she wailed silently. _He's gone and he's never coming back!_

Then she felt a frail paw touch her shoulder lightly and she knew Rainbreeze had come to try and comfort her. But the next words made her furious: "Come, Silverpaw. That tom was putting our Clan in danger; he had to be driven away for the best. Now you'll feel better after you..."

But Silverpaw didn't want to hear the rest. With a hiss, she leaped away from her grandmother and growled, "I hope you're happy, Rainbreeze! You and Ashpaw took away my only chance to become a great WaterBender! Just leave me alone!"

And without looking at the shock on her face, she stalked away, not wanting to stick around. Silverpaw glanced around to see Ashpaw nudging the kits to the camp firmly as he announced, "Kits, get ready to defend the camp! FireClan will be here any minute!"

One kit, the same gray tabby-and-white kit from before, was kneading the snow and fidgeting as he raised his tail, mewling, "Ashpaw, I really gotta..."

"AND NO BATHROOM BREAKS!" Ashpaw roared as he nudged the kit back inside the camp. Noticing that Silverpaw was there, he padded to her and meowed, "Hey, Silverpaw, can you help me gear up for battle?"

"No thanks, jerkass. I'm going to help the queens and elders." Silverpaw's voice was cold as she growled this.

Ashpaw stared at her in shock, but she didn't care. She was already infuriated by the injustice seen earlier. A good fight was all she needed to fuel up her blood.

**...**

Out in the open tundra, Goldpaw and Archie had decided to rest in a cave to keep themselves warm after they hunted. Goldpaw felt bad for leaving WaterClan, but Ashpaw was right: he was an AirClan cat and cats from other Clans couldn't be true friends.

When the four ancient Clans had lived, inter-Clan friendship was pushed aside so that cats could focus more on being loyal to their own Clan. This had changed when the new Clans had come to be, when inter-Clan friendship was permissible. But Ashpaw seemed to want to cling to the old ways.

Archie let out a rumble which probably meant he liked the WaterClan cats, especially Silverpaw.

"Yeah, Archie. I liked her too. I wonder if our paths can intertwine one day." Goldpaw meowed as he curled up into a ball.

But suddenly, he heard a loud screech in the distance and that seemed to irritate Goldpaw a little, so he went out to check. To his horror, he saw a large black ship like the one he and Silverpaw went into was heading straight to the camp. That ship looked rather like it would bring true danger to the Clan.

_Great StarClan, they're heading for the WaterClan camp!_ Goldpaw yelped to himself.

Meowing to Archie, "Wait here till I get back," he grabbed his glider staff, tied it to his back, and raced off to the WaterClan camp to help against the intruders.

**...**

Back at WaterClan, Ashpaw was getting ready for battle against FireClan. He might be smaller and younger than the FireClan cats, but he had trained hard to battle for his father and their Clan. His mind went back to when he forced Goldpaw to leave the Clan and he felt a bit guilty despite telling himself that he did it for the sake of the Clan's safety.

_Don't think about it now!_ he scolded himself. _You've got invaders to send packing!_

He found a nearby tree stump and began to sharpen his claws onto it. This reminded him of what Emberstar told him about how to sharpen his claws: the more you sharpen your claws, the more damage you give to your enemy. He had chosen some paint to make some battle symbols on his pelt as he gently used his tail to smear the symbols onto his face, paws, and chest.

He was ready for battle.

**...**

Bearclaw gave a grunt of thanks as his warriors came to him with some kind of armor. Some cats offered to find him a weapon, but he got himself a weapon already: a spear with the sharp end made out of a bear's claw. This was how he got his name.

His FireClan ship was already near to the WaterClan camp as it sailed through the water. Several orcas swam out of the way in time to squeak furiously at the ship. But Bearclaw didn't mind the whales; he was here to capture the Avatar Cat.

**...**

At the entry of the WaterClan camp, Ashpaw had left the apprentices' den for smaller weapons and he planted himself at the entrance. But he decided to attack the enemy if they were to come in an aerial attack, so he climbed onto the walls to see. He stood on his hind legs to scan the territory, his jaws open to drink in the scent of the enemy.

_They gotta be around here, should they? That signal showed them the way here!_

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, causing the cats in the camp to wail in alarm and making Ashpaw land back onto his forepaws. Then one of his watchtowers started to crumble and fell to the cold earth.

"OH SHIT!" Ashpaw shouted with frustration.

At this, the cats in the Clan began to scatter like ants to their dens. Queens gathered their kits and steered them to the nursery while the elders put themselves at the nursery entrance, making sure whatever came here would have to go through them first to get the kits. Ashpaw saw Silverpaw join the elders as she quailed together with Rainbreeze. She seemed to have forgotten her anger toward her kin, he realized, since they were in this situation.

A giant shadow loomed above them and Ashpaw crouched low to the ground as the shape of a ship came into view. It was around four times the size of a killer whale and it was much times heavier. The ship was also dark gray or coal-black with red highlights dotted here and there on it.

"Great StarClan!" he gasped.

Actually, it was just some distance away, but it was still huge. As the ship got closer, Silverpaw nudged Rainbreeze gently behind her, but she darted out to retrieve a forgotten kit running in a circle and mewling for its mother. The walls surrounding the camp suddenly crumbled and the ice-covered ground cracked all over the place under the stress.

**...**

Silverpaw laid the kit gently at its mother's paws turned to see her brother. Ashpaw was facing the ship as he rose himself onto his hind legs like a badger as if he was making a Twoleg fighting move.

"Ashpaw, what the hell are you doing? Get out of the way!" she yowled, but it was too late.

The wall fell into the camp, taking Ashpaw with it and burying him in snow. As the giant ship came to a halt, steam began to blow from a pipe at the top and even from the bottom, causing the snow around it to melt and revealed more snow. While Silverpaw was outside the nursery, the queens, kits, and elders came out of the nursery to stare in amazement as the giant ship stopped coming closer.

Both Silverpaw and Ashpaw gasped in amazement as the ship opened up. As the bowsprit began to fall to the ground, Ashpaw quickly leaped out of the way to avoid getting smashed. Silverpaw saw four or five cats prowl out from the inside of the ship and were padding straight for them.

In the front of the pack was a large dark brown tabby tom with one good amber eye and his face looking ripped on his right side. A closer look told Silverpaw that this scar wasn't just cut; it was also burnt. He had a look of menace on him as he padded right for the nursery where the elders and kits were hiding from danger.

Ashpaw suddenly sprang to his paws and into action as he pounced at the tabby tom, yowling despite having a weapon in his jaws. It seemed to be the same badger bone Silverpaw had used to free Goldpaw from the White Stone. But as he pounced, the FireClan tom slammed his paw down to pin him, jerked the bone away from him, and threw it away to the entrance of the camp. Then he sunk his fangs into Ashpaw's scruff and flung the dark gray tabby tom to the entrance.

Giving a growl of satisfaction and ignoring Ashpaw's snorting as he tried to free himself, the dark tabby ran straight for the nursery, his companions behind him. Then he placed himself in front of the WaterClan cats as he beckoned Silverpaw and Rainbreeze over to him.

He meowed in an amazingly young voice despite his size, "I am Bearclaw, son of Darkstar, leader of FireClan and heir to the throne! I have come to ask you: where are you hiding him?"

No one answered him, so, to Silverpaw's shock, the tabby cat lunged forward to grab Rainbreeze by the scruff in his teeth to show her to the Clan. "You know. He's this age and he's the master of all the four elements?"

"Bearclaw, sir, no one's answering," one of the big gray toms behind him responded.

"Damn!" Bearclaw spat, tossing Rainbreeze back to Silverpaw, who gave him a glare. Noticing that, the dark brown tabby warrior stood on his hind legs and shot a jet of flame out of his jaws. The WaterClan cats cowered in fear when they saw the flame.

He growled, "Come on, you mouse-hearts! I know you're hiding him here!"

Silverpaw noticed Ashpaw slowly stand up with almost all the painted symbols on his body melted away. He had blood trickling from his ear, which meant he probably cut it on a thorn or a stone. He picked up the badger bone and charged at Bearclaw again. Letting out a hiss of rage, Bearclaw dodged and leaped onto his head to give himself distance and to give Ashpaw a kick on the head.

He let out another jet of flame from his jaws, but Ashpaw rolled out of the way and he threw the bone at him. Bearclaw leaped out of the way to avoid getting caught by the boomerang bone and whipped around to give Ashpaw an angry growl. The dark gray tabby tom met the dark brown tabby cat's amber glare with his pale blue stare.

As Ashpaw breathed heavily from the extra fighting, a little ginger-and-white kit dashed to him. "Show no fear, Ashpaw!"

Ashpaw nodded, gently took the weapon from the kit, and got back up to charge Bearclaw with the spear. But Bearclaw was smart; he closed his jaws around the part where the spear wasn't pointy and snapped it in half. Using the broken spear, he used it to rake Ashpaw's pelt hard with the broken wood. Ashpaw backed away and collapsed to the snow with a growl as blood seeped from the wound, making the snow turn red.

All of a sudden, Bearclaw fell to the ground as his helmet fell off and Silverpaw saw what hit him; the boomerang bone had come back. Furious, Bearclaw made his claws glow with fire, ran over to the fallen apprentice, and rose to his hind legs to slam his claws onto her brother's throat. Silverpaw didn't want to see the fire rake at Ashpaw's throat or hear more blood spatter the snow, so she closed her eyes, ready to hear the slice.

It never came; Silverpaw looked up in time to see a golden flash strike Bearclaw at the shoulder, making the warrior fall to the ground. She heard the kits begin to cheer as the golden cat landed next to the seal he was riding on and the seal gave a bark before plodding off. _Goldpaw! He came back!_ Silverpaw wailed happily to herself.

"Hey, Silverpaw and Ashpaw," the golden cat meowed happily.

"Hey, Goldpaw. Thanks for coming," Ashpaw muttered as he got up, not using a hostile tone.

Goldpaw gave a nod before turning to the FireClan cats, who began to surround them. He leaped to the air and came back down with a mighty stomp, causing the earth to shake and the FireClan cats, including Bearclaw, to fall. Unlike the other FireBending cats, Bearclaw got back up and unsheathed his claws even more.

Goldpaw sat down and meowed to him, "Hey, you're looking for me, right?"

A chilly silence spread over the horizon as the two toms stared at one another. Then three cats responded one at a time.

"You're the Avatar Cat?"

"Goldpaw's the...?"

"No way."

Goldpaw and Bearclaw started to circle one another in the middle of the camp as if they were in a battle arena. One tom was small and golden, the other large and brown.

Bearclaw's good amber eye was blazing with fury as he snarled, "I can't believe it! I spent these moons meditating and training! You're...you're just a kit!"

"Well, you're just an apprentice," Goldpaw retorted.

Bearclaw roared, "You cheeky bastard!"

And then, he launched a fire blast from the pad on his paws. Instantly, Goldpaw wrenched the staff from his back and used it to spin away the fire, but it came at a cost. The WaterClan cats were right behind Goldpaw and they cried out in fear when the fire lapped right above them in a threatening way.

Silverpaw, while cringing at the fire, saw Goldpaw turn to face them with sorrow and fear in his dark gray eyes. He couldn't protect them all.

He stopped twirling his staff and he meowed to Bearclaw, "Stop the FireBending. I'll come with you if you promise to leave these cats alone."

"Yes, I promise that," Bearclaw meowed, kinking his tail to a FireClan cat behind him to take Goldpaw's staff away. The tom grabbed Goldpaw by the scruff and began to take him to the FireClan ship.

_No! He can't give up like that!_ Silverpaw gasped. She darted forward wailing, "Goldpaw, no! Don't go with them!"

"Silverpaw, it'll be okay. I'll be back soon. Take care of Archie until I get back," he added before the large gray tom took him inside the ship.

"Take a course route to FireClan," Bearclaw commanded his warriors. "I'm finally going home."

Before the bowsprit closed, Silverpaw felt her eyes fill with tears as Goldpaw glanced back at her to give her an encouraging smile. But he must have seen the pain on her face because his smile vanished quickly as the ship left the ravaged camp.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

The next morning, the cats of WaterClan were trying to make the camp walls go back up. The ragged path in the ice that Bearclaw's FireClan ship had made was out in sight in the wrecked wall. Despite what happened the night before, life went on as the few queens went to hunt for a little bit. One by one, the cats rebuilt the watchtowers, rebuilt the dens, and tended to the fire in the center of the camp, but there wasn't any joy while they did their chores.

Out on a distant shore away from the camp, Silverpaw was gazing at the sun rising slowly over the sea. She didn't want Goldpaw to go with the hellish FireClan cats, but he had no choice. He wanted to protect her and her Clan, but even more worrisome was that she heard yesterday that Goldpaw was the Avatar Cat.

_That's why he was jumpy when I asked him about the Avatar Cat,_ Silverpaw realized, but there wasn't time to think about it.

She didn't notice Ashpaw padding past her with a bundle of something in his jaws, but she ignored that.

"Ashpaw, we need to get to that FireClan ship. We have to rescue Goldpaw. He rescued our Clan, so we have to return the favor."

"Silverpaw, I..." Ashpaw started to meow.

"Why the hell can't you see that he's our ally and friend?" she ranted on, not listening to him. "I know you hate him, but he saved our lives! We owe him our lives and..."

"Silverpaw, stop ranting and listen!" Ashpaw interrupted her. He laid down the bundle, which contained a few weapons including the badger bone Silverpaw and Ashpaw used earlier, on the snowy ground. Then he flicked his tail towards a kayak and meowed, "Are you going to keep meowing until your paws freeze or are you going to come along?"

Now Silverpaw realized why Ashpaw was carrying those weapons around. He wanted to save Goldpaw, too!

"Ashpaw," Silverpaw purred happily as she nuzzled her brother's sturdy shoulder.

Ashpaw purred back, pointed his tail to a small kayak, and meowed, "Now hop in. We're gonna rescue your mate."

Silverpaw, whose cheeks began to glow pink, started to protest, "What are you talking about? He's not my mate!"

"Okay, fine, whatever," Ashpaw replied, waving his tail dismissively at his sister.

"Where are you two going?" Silverpaw and Ashpaw flinched when they turned to see Rainbreeze staring at them sternly.

But her eyes became gentle when she rasped softly, "I think you'll need these when you travel." She had been carrying some supplies of food and other things and nudged them to her grandkits.

Then the old dark gray she-cat meowed, "You two are on a long and powerful journey. It's been fourteen years since I had hope for the world, but you finally brought it back from the dead, my young WaterBender," she added as she touched noses with the silver apprentice, who purred in return.

Rainbreeze touched noses with Ashpaw, meowing gently, "And be kind to your sister, my young fighter. You two will make good warriors on your journey."

"Yes, Rainbreeze. I promise," Ashpaw replied as he licked his grandmother's ears.

Rainbreeze wasn't finished talking yet; she rasped on with all the wisdom of her age, "Goldpaw is the Avatar Cat; he is the Clans' only chance to save them. You both had a good reason to find him. Thus, your paths are forever intertwined with his." The two shared confused glances at that; how were they, common apprentices, connected to the Avatar Cat?

But they put that aside as Rainbreeze touched noses with them one more time before padding back to the camp. They knew it would be moons before they could return home.

After her grandmother left, Silverpaw pointed her tail to the kayak and meowed to her littermate, "Ashpaw, I don't think we're gonna catch a ship with a kayak."

"Oh, yeah," Ashpaw replied.

But suddenly, there was a familiar roar as Archie, Goldpaw's white-pelted Asian Lung dragon, came bounding down from a large hill. When he saw the two cats, he jumped onto Silverpaw and started to lick her face.

While she purred at Archie's funny entrance, Ashpaw grumbled, "You really like to take me to uncomfortable waters, don't you?"

The two cats climbed onto Archie, but the dragon plodded into the seawater instead and he appeared to swim slowly like a sea turtle. Ashpaw, bored of Archie swimming slowly, muttered dully, "Fly. Go. Soar."

When Archie just gave him a rumble but didn't take off, Silverpaw padded carefully to Archie's head and meowed, "Archie, please fly. We need your help, but Goldpaw needs it most. Ashpaw doesn't believe you can fly, but I do."

Ignoring Ashpaw's groans of "Ascend. Elevate. Up," Silverpaw added coaxingly, "Please fly so you can save Goldpaw?"

But all she got from him was another rumble in his throat. He STILL didn't fly or even speed up.

"What were those damn magic words the AirClan cat said again?" Ashpaw meowed, finally trying to lift the dullness from his tone, but losing patience. "Was it 'Hup hup' or 'Wahoo?' Or was it 'Yee-hah' or 'Yip yip?'

As the sound of "Yip yip" escaped from Ashpaw's jaws, Archie finally gave a massive roar and lifted himself off of the water; he was soaring through the air like an eagle. Silverpaw couldn't believe it. They were now flying on Archie and even more amazing was that Ashpaw had helped her out.

"Yes! You did it, Ashpaw!" she cheered.

Ashpaw, meanwhile, was jumping up and down on the dragon, yowling, "He's flying, Silverpaw! He's fly-" But he saw Silverpaw give him a crafty grin and he managed to meow coolly, "I mean, so what? He's just flying. Big deal."

But Silverpaw saw happiness still linger in his pale blue eyes. Anyways, they were on their way to save Goldpaw from FireClan!

**...**

At the deck of the FireClan ship, Bearclaw had taken Goldpaw's staff from him after tying his legs together. The dark brown tabby tom took the staff warily with his front paws and inspected it with great curiosity.

"This staff will be a great gift for Darkstar. I think you don't know much about fathers, Avatar Cat. I mean, you've been raised by travelers," he added smugly to Goldpaw, who gave him just a small growl from his throat.

He got up to meow to three FireClan warriors, "Take the Avatar Cat to his prison room. And..." he went on to Irontail and handing him the staff, "...take this to my quarter den."

He prowled away, but not before he saw Irontail give the staff to another warrior cat, mewing, "Hey, you mind if you can take this to Bearclaw's quarters?"

Goldpaw gave a snort of laughter as he was nudged by another big warrior down some stairs, but he actually had to be carried since he could trip. He felt like a dog being on a leash, but this was a bit too much. Now he had to try and escape while he had the chance.

As the group of warriors was bringing Goldpaw to his prison, Goldpaw mewed to one of the warriors, "So...you've never fought an AirBending apprentice before, huh? Well, I bet I could kick all your asses with all my paws tied together."

The warrior, a big light gray tom, growled, "Shut the hell up!"

Then they arrived to a small door and Goldpaw guessed this must be the prison Bearclaw talked about. As the light gray tom held a little key in his jaws, ready to open the door, Goldpaw didn't want to find out what was going to happen to him next. What mattered now was to escape as fast as he could.

So he inhaled deeply and let out a gust of wind from his mouth at the warrior, making him drop his key in surprise. All the others were hit by a gust of air so powerful, it even caused Goldpaw to be slammed into the warrior behind him as they crashed into the wall. Goldpaw nudged the cat to see if he was knocked out before AirBending himself onto the deck, hopping with his bound paws down the hall.

He didn't know a warrior on duty had seen him until he heard the yowl. "The Avatar Cat has escaped! Get him!"

Goldpaw continued to hop down the hall and he glanced behind him to see if more enemies were on the way to him. But then he ended up running into three tabbies that looked as if they were going to rip him apart.

"Hey. Have any of you seen my staff?" Goldpaw asked them.

But the warriors jumped at him instead, so Goldpaw awkwardly jumped up at the wall and rolled away to sidestep the waving claws and blazing flames they sent. Once on the ceiling, he leaped down while spinning in a circle behind the guards; they whipped around to see the golden tom hop away with all his might.

"Thanks for helping!" he called before hopping away.

But he didn't get away easily; another cat was blocking the way. The tom unsheathed his claws and fired a fireball from his paw, which Goldpaw avoided with jumping. But the warrior's claws caught him by the ropes tied to his legs and the claws sliced through the ropes, releasing him. Sending a blast of air from his tail at the tomcat, Goldpaw sprinted away.

_Looks like I'm faster without those ropes._ _Now to search for my staff._

Goldpaw prayed to StarClan to help him out, opening one door. When nothing was there, he tried to open another and another after the previous one. At one door, he peeked inside to see Bearclaw's gray tabby uncle, Irontail, curled into a ball and snoring in his nest. He was taking a little nap and that was why he asked the other warrior to take it instead.

Goldpaw decided to let the elderly warrior sleep, for he left before whispering, "My bad" to the snoring gray tabby.

He ran by another door and, unlike the other doors, this one was open and Goldpaw took a peek inside. There, in the middle of the room, was his staff. Purring, Goldpaw padded over to pick up the glider staff. But the mission was far from over...

Suddenly, the door slammed shut and Goldpaw turned to see Bearclaw flick his paw to the door slam shut. The tabby warrior's amber eyes, which were actually both useful, glittered with some kind of ambition.

"Looks like I doubted your strength, Avatar Cat."

After a few silence-filled seconds, Bearclaw opened his mouth and shot a blast of fire at the younger cat. Goldpaw managed to barely escape, but the flames singed the tip of the hairs on his pelt. The young Avatar Cat panted with exhaustion as he tried to catch his breath. Then Bearclaw shot a few fire blasts at him before leaping at him, but Goldpaw slid beneath the FireClan tom to get behind him. Bearclaw whirled around to shoot a fireball from his paw at him, but this time, Goldpaw deflected it with a cloud of air surrounding him.

The golden tom created four small paw-shaped tufts of air before slipping his paws in and sped off away from the FireBending warrior. All of the flames shot at Goldpaw had made contact with the tapestry around them and caught on fire. Goldpaw jumped out of the "Air Paws", grabbed a piece of non-burnt tapestry from the wall, and wrapped it around Bearclaw as he passed by.

While Bearclaw struggled madly to get out, Goldpaw grabbed his staff in his jaws. But it was too late to flee, for Bearclaw had ripped the tapestry apart with his Flaming Claws attack. After he did much more dodging the tabby's flames, Goldpaw saw him pounce onto his nest to jump onto him from a better height. His claws were unsheathed and his lips were peeled back into a snarl.

The golden cat flicked his tail at it, and the nest flew at the wall, smashing Bearclaw between the ceiling and the nest. Then it fell back to the floor with the dark brown tabby tom seemingly out cold on top of it. Just for fun, Goldpaw flicked his tail again at it; this time, the nest smashed Bearclaw against the wall, and they both fell back to the ground again.

Goldpaw managed to escape from the inside of the ship and hopped out onto the outer deck. He let the staff poke its wings out and attached the staff onto his back, ready for takeoff. He jumped off of the deck and was already gliding away from the ship with a smile on his face.

Suddenly, to his horror, he felt sharp teeth grab his leg and pull him down back onto the ship. Goldpaw glanced down to see Bearclaw holding on tight with so much rage that there was fire in his golden eyes. It looked like the dark brown tabby warrior had leaped hard from the ship and grabbed on in time. His extra weight caused both toms to fall onto the ground; when they hit the ground, they got back up to glare at one another. Both toms were ready to fight to the death.

But Goldpaw saw that Bearclaw was distracted by something. "What the hell is that thing?" he was growling with disbelief.

Goldpaw looked up and saw Archie flying down toward the ship with both Silverpaw and Ashpaw on him. _"Archie!"_ he called with happiness.

But the happiness didn't last long because Bearclaw had lunged at him with fire surrounding his fangs. Goldpaw quickly grabbed his staff and began to twirl the flames away with it, but he was unaware that he was dangerously close to the edge. As he deflected four more fire attacks, he stepped backwards off of the ship's edge and he fell off of the edge.

He was certain to AirBend himself back up to the ship and he positioned his body for this. But he accidentally hit his head on the edge as he fell, knocking him out for a little while.

Before slipping out of consciousness, he could hear Silverpaw's voice yowl franticly, "Goldpaw! No!" That was all he heard before slipping below the icy cold water of the southern sea.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

As Goldpaw sunk below the icy sea, he couldn't feel the iciness of the water soaking the skin beneath his short golden fur. But what he could hear was Silverpaw screaming his name around three times, and that made him open his eyes. Goldpaw looked up to see the silhouette of the FireClan ship swimming above him and he swam upwards to save his friends.

He could hear the voices of StarClan around him murmuring, _Do not be afraid, Goldpaw. We are with you._

_I know, _he thought back.

At this, he felt his eyes glow white and he watched as the white arrow stripes on his paws began glowing a brighter white. But as he prepared for his introduction of his identity, he had no idea what was happening on top; what mattered more was saving his friend. StarClan had chosen him to be the Avatar Cat for this kind of reason: to keep balance between StarClan and the world.

Around him, a mighty whirlpool of water began to form. Goldpaw, who was at the center of a giant inverted tornado of water, was propelled toward the surface at amazing speed, faster than a cheetah. He broke the surface in front of the ship, towering high over the bridge atop his swirling turbulence of water.

Then he saw Bearclaw, who was looking up at the swirling column of water and the Avatar Cat at the top with dismay and fear. Goldpaw landed on the deck, his eyes still aglow, and Bended the water from the column around him in circle with his tail. He released the freezing water and it expanded outward in a shockwave, blasting Bearclaw and his cats overboard.

"Did you see that?" Silverpaw squealed, her voice filled with awe.

"Now THAT'S what I call WaterBending!" Ashpaw mewed.

Goldpaw heard this as he crouched on deck, wobbling after the huge energy expenditure. He fell forward, the white energy fading from his eyes and tattoos and turning back into dark gray eyes and plain white arrows. Archie landed while Silverpaw and Ashpaw leaped off of him to retrieve him.

Silverpaw was the first to reach him, concern in her blue eyes. "Goldpaw! Are you all right?"

She crouched down beside him and began licking his fur, warming him up. Goldpaw looked up at her with weary eyes.

"Hey, Silverpaw. Hey, Ashpaw. Thanks for coming..." he rasped.

Ashpaw made a goofy grin as he replied, "Well, I couldn't let you take all the glory." Then he paused and muttered, "Damn. I wasn't supposed to say that."

Goldpaw smiled weakly at that before he pointed his tail to the edge of the ship. "My...my staff..."

"I got it," Ashpaw meowed.

He got up and began padding over to where the staff was teetering dangerously over the edge of the ship. Goldpaw was thankful to have two new friends to be next to him; even if they were WaterClan cats, these two were good to him. Even Ashpaw, who had tried banishing him, was a good cat at heart.

**(Author's Note: Now this scene is from Ginga Densetsu Weed, which I don't own.)**

But suddenly, he saw a dark brown paw swipe at the glider staff and haul its owner partly onto the ship. It was Bearclaw, and he looked very angry. He quickly grabbed onto the railing and pulled himself onto the ship, to the other three cats' shock. Then, to Silverpaw's horror, the large dark brown tabby tomcat grabbed Ashpaw by the throat with his jaws and threw him down onto the deck.

Recovering well enough, Goldpaw shouted "Let him go!" and dashed towards Bearclaw, using his head to headbutt him on the shoulder. But thanks to his FireClan bulk, Bearclaw seemed to not move at all from the impact. In fact, he didn't even flinch at this.

"Damn it! Let go of him! Let go!" Goldpaw growled as he bit onto Bearclaw's left ear.

"Shut it!" the big FireClan warrior snapped, shoving him away. "You wait your turn!"

Goldpaw kept on charging back at him, trying to making him release Ashpaw while Silverpaw watched on in horror. No matter what would happen, he wouldn't stop until his new friend was saved from the jaws of death. He kept tugging at Bearclaw's ear, unwilling to let go unless he released Ashpaw.

"You're really starting to piss me off, kit!" Bearclaw roared as he let go of Ashpaw to round on Goldpaw.

As soon as Ashpaw hit the ground, the big dark brown tabby grabbed Goldpaw by the throat and began to crush him, making him gasp for breath. While his life began flashing right before his eyes, Goldpaw saw some blood drip from his neck and onto the ground. He began struggling to slash at Bearclaw's muzzle, but he was too strong to pull off of him.

But when he was ready to give up, Goldpaw saw Silverpaw's face turn from an expression of horror to one of anger. Plus, he could even hear her growling angrily.

"Rrrr...bastard..." she was hissing. Then, she let out a very loud screech and ran at Bearclaw, screeching loudly, "HOW DARE YOU!"

At this, she reached them and bit onto his ear, making Bearclaw drop Goldpaw and whirl around to glare at the silver she-cat. Goldpaw rolled over to the side and watched as the two struggled against each other.

Silverpaw was growling, "You coward! Does a big cat like you need to bully young ones like him? Fight me!"

Bearclaw spat, "You've got some nerve, peasant!"

"Shut up! From now on, I'm a new cat!" came Silverpaw's reply.

But the FireClan warrior had no purpose of giving up; instead, he threw his head around, making Silverpaw let go and yowl with surprise. What Goldpaw saw next made him gasp and get a little angry. Bearclaw had leaped up into the air, caught Silverpaw by the throat in his jaws, and slammed her down onto the deck.

Goldpaw managed to recover from his wound and he charged at Bearclaw, swiping at him with his claws and head-butting him. He could see Ashpaw slinking away from the battle while the silver she-cat was thrashing and flailing about in his jaws. But Goldpaw was unwilling to stop, for he wanted to fight for his friends.

"Let her go! Let Silverpaw go!" Goldpaw was yowling.

"Stop it, kid!" Ashpaw was calling in alarm. "What're you doing? Run away!"

But Goldpaw shouted "No!" and charged at Bearclaw again.

However, Ashpaw had rushed forward and grabbed Goldpaw by the scruff, trying to pull him away. "Idiot! Why're you fighting for cats like us?"

Goldpaw looked over his shoulder at him, surprised he would say that. "What're you saying? You and Silverpaw took me into the Clan when I had nowhere to go!"

"But..." Silverpaw was rasping in Bearclaw's jaws. "...it was hardly anything..."

"I don't care!" Goldpaw snarled, breaking free and charging at Bearclaw again. "I'll fight for you two!"

The young AirClan cat continued scratching and biting at Bearclaw, but the dark brown tabby tomcat seemed to have enough. Bearclaw let go of Silverpaw, grabbed Goldpaw by his scruff, and threw him away from him to the other side of the deck. Goldpaw laid still as he watched Bearclaw glaring in triumph at him, with his warriors siding alongside him. He could also see his new friends gazing over at him with horror as they tried to heal each other with herbs they got.

But suddenly, to everyone's amazement, Goldpaw managed to get onto all of his paws, panting as he looked over at Bearclaw. He felt his arrow stripes and eyes glow white again before he let out a massive screech and lunged forward. When he was getting near, Goldpaw curled himself into a ball and hurled himself at the FireClan cat.

Bearclaw glared at him with shock. "What the...? What're you doing?"

As soon as he meowed this, Silverpaw ran over to him and latched onto his right ear, trying to pull him away. Goldpaw, meanwhile, was still hurtling towards Bearclaw at top speed, still in a ball and screeching loudly.

"Release me!" Bearclaw was snarling at Silverpaw. "Release..."

But it was too late. As soon as Bearclaw tried to pull away from Silverpaw, Goldpaw felt his teeth grab at the area between where the root of Bearclaw's ear was and where Silverpaw was grabbing onto. He bit down hard and felt the ear tear away from its owner, landing in a wobbly way on his four paws. The attack he used was called the Zetsu Tenrou Battouga, an attack only the Avatar Cat could use.

**(Author's Note: That's the end of that part for now. There'll be other parts like that later on.)**

When he keeled over, Goldpaw looked up to see that Bearclaw had screeched in pain and fell over from the side of the ship, the staff still there at the edge. He spat out the missing ear and looked over towards the edge, afraid he would lose what the AirClan cats had given to him. Ashpaw must have seen the Avatar Cat looking over at the staff, for he got up and padded over to the staff and gripped it in his jaws.

Suddenly, as he picked it up, Ashpaw looked shocked to see that Bearclaw hung onto the other end of it. He had been swept overboard, but held onto the part of the staff that was hanging out over the deck; plus, the place where his ear was ripped off had begun bleeding. Ashpaw poked Bearclaw in the head with the staff three times to the same rhythm the dark tabby tom used on him earlier. The FireClan cat let go and fell to the water below, but he grabbed the anchor chain in time, hanging by the claws of one paw.

"That's from WaterClan, you jackass!" Ashpaw cheered while Goldpaw got onto Archie.

Meanwhile, Archie was getting up, shaking off some water. But some of the warriors who were washed down the deck by Goldpaw's WaterBending got up, preparing for combat. But Silverpaw picked up a stream of water from the deck with her tail and the warriors backed away slightly in fear. She tried to whip the warrior cats with the water, but instead, she froze the water on the deck, including the water around Ashpaw's paws.

"Silverpaw!"

Grumbling to himself, the dark gray tabby tom began chewing at the ice holding his paws with while the warriors moved forward once again. Silverpaw picked up another stream of water and threw it at the soldiers while she closed her eyes. When she opened them, she saw that they were now frozen in a thin sheet of ice. She turned and climbed back up on Archie.

"Hurry up, Ashpaw!" she called to her brother.

"I'm hurry upping!" Ashpaw called back, trying to free himself and muttering, "Look, I'm just a plain old cat with weapons. I didn't ask for any of this flying or magic or other shit like this." Finally free, he rushed over to Archie's tail and climbed on board, shouting, "Yip yip, Archie! Yip yip!"

Once Ashpaw was on board, Archie let out a roar and lifted off from the deck.

**...**

Bearclaw glared up at the white dragon as he dangled perilously on the side of this ship. The area where the Avatar Cat tore off his ear stung like the stinging of a jellyfish. But even more was that the Avatar Cat was escaping; he needed to capture the Avatar Cat to become the Clan deputy and regain his honor. This was his destiny, he supposed.

Rumbling noises made Bearclaw look over his shoulder to see Irontail arriving out of the captain's cabin. The fat gray tabby tom was looking up at the sky with tiredness in his amber eyes.

"Huh? What's going on?" Irontail mewed. But he didn't say anything else as Bearclaw pulled himself onto the ship. However, he gasped when he saw his nephew's bleeding from his missing ear. "Great StarClan, Bearclaw! What happened to your ear?"

"Nothing!" Bearclaw spat as he wrenched away from his uncle, who was licking the blood away from that spot. Pointing his muzzle up at the fleeing dragon, he roared, "Shoot them down!"

As the dragon gained altitude, Bearclaw and Irontail together launched a massive bolt of fire at it. The two WaterClan apprentices were looking behind them in horror at the impending fireball. Suddenly, the golden Avatar Cat leaped to the back of the saddle and, using his staff like a club, AirBended a gale that sent the fireball at a right angle away from his pet and into the ice cliff nearby.

The fireball exploded, freeing a huge sum of ice from the cliff wall, which fell into the narrow channel Bearclaw's ship was navigating. Bearclaw looked on in horror as the bow of the ship and indeed the entire channel was blocked up under an avalanche of ice.

Bearclaw snarled when he swore the three cats were laughing at him as they flew away. But he was more worried about his now-damaged ship; he had no idea an apprentice like that kit could do that much damage to it.

"This should be good news for Darkstar," Irontail meowed. "A kit is now FireClan's ultimate threat."

"That _kit_ did _this_, Uncle Irontail," Bearclaw snapped back. "I'll never misjudge him ever again. Dig this ship out and follow them!" he commanded his warriors. But some warriors were too busy using controlled FireBending to thaw out their compatriots frozen by the silver she-cat.

Embarrassed by that, Bearclaw lashed his tail and mewed, "...as soon as you're finished with that."

But he glared up at the sun and hissed softly to himself. He had failed to catch the Avatar Cat, but he felt proud of what happened. He was the first cat to see the Avatar Cat in around fourteen years after the AirClan cats were gone. Now Bearclaw hoped he could confront this cat again in battle, even though he knew he had to be wary of him now.

_I'll face you again someday, Avatar Cat._

**...**

Archie was now floating slowly through the sky as slowly as a lizard in the shade. But Goldpaw was just brooding; he hadn't expected tasks like this to be hard. But what was even worse was that his friends now knew he was the Avatar Cat. Sighing, he busied himself by looking up at the clouds, hoping that StarClan could answer him.

Behind him, he could hear Silverpaw and Ashpaw murmuring about what happened back at the ship. Goldpaw wished they wouldn't; that just made him feel more uneasy.

"That was so awesome, Goldpaw!" Silverpaw mewed. "How the hell did you do that? I mean, with the water?"

Goldpaw just shrugged sadly on the bridge of the saddle. "I don't know. I just...did it. That's all."

Silverpaw nodded, but then she meowed, "Then I have another question for you: why didn't you say you were the Avatar Cat?"

"Because I...because I didn't want to be," Goldpaw replied.

Overhead, a cloud passed over them, momentarily blocking the fading sunlight. After it passed by, they entered a shaft of sunlight, turning Goldpaw's pelt into a brilliant golden as if he came from the sun.

_It's the Circle of Life_

_And it moves us all_

"Goldpaw, everyone's been waiting for you to come back and save the Clans and end the war," Silverpaw spoke up. Goldpaw could see her dark blue eyes turn golden in the sunlight.

Goldpaw looked away. "How, may I ask, do I do that?"

The silver apprentice of WaterClan explained, "Well, from the legends we heard, you have to master Water then Earth then Fire. Right?"

"That's what the warriors in my Clan say," the young golden cat told her.

"Well, I thought it over about what you said and I decided you were right," Silverpaw meowed. When Goldpaw gave her a look, she added, "You told me, before we went seal-riding, that we could go to the Northern WaterClan to learn WaterBending. So I decided we can go there to help you learn WaterBending!"

_Through despair and hope_

_Through faith and love_

Goldpaw saw that she was right about that. Smiling at the thought now, he responded, "Maybe we can learn it together!"

Silverpaw nodded and turned around to her brother. "And maybe a particular cat behind me can beat some FireClan ass along the way!"

Now both cats saw that Ashpaw seemed to think this over because his tail was twitching around his paws. And when he looked up to look at them, he had some kind of sly smile on his face as he thought this over.

Then he finally meowed in a slightly pensive way, "Yeah. I'd love that. I'd really love that." Then he stammered, "Hey, Goldpaw? Sorry I drove you out of our camp. It's just that..."

"You had to protect your Clan from any threat. But that's okay," Goldpaw purred, not bothered at all by what happened earlier.

"Then we're in this together," Silverpaw piped up.

Goldpaw nodded. "Until the end."

_Till we find our place_

_On the path unwinding_

_In the Circle_

_The Circle of Life_

Then he pulled a scroll out of his yellow bag, which rolled out to become a map as he meowed, "But first, before we go there, I wanna stop at some places along the way. We got some stuff to do." At this, he pointed his paw to two spots in EarthClan territory, and he pointed to one spot on the southern AirClan islands in quick succession.

"So what's that spot in EarthClan?" Silverpaw meowed, pointing at the spot with wonder while her littermate looked quite impatient.

"Over there in the east, we'll ride the mountain kangaroos," Goldpaw explained. He pointed to another AirClan place and went on, "Then over there, we'll surf on the backs of killer whales. And then we go back to EarthClan and play with the baboons. They get pissed off when a cat tries to play with them, but that makes it all the more fun!"

All three cats purred together as Archie continued flying through the clouds at sunset, shafts of the suns fading light breaking through the clouds. Goldpaw didn't know what was up ahead, but he knew their journey was going to be a long and fun-filled journey.

Their journey has begun.

_On the path unwinding_

_In the Circle_

_The Circle of Life_

_(To be continued...)_

**...**

**AvatarCat11: I hope people like this story so far! If not, I understand. **

**Katara: Don't worry, AvatarCat. I think they'll like it all the same. Holly will be coming around in the next chapter, so we three can be back in business together!**

**AvatarCat11: Sure! You know what they say: all for one and one for all! (To the readers) If you review, we'll give out cupcakes with blue and gold frosting! And here's the summary of The Southern AirClan Camp.**

**Summary: When their journey begins, Goldpaw and his new friends go to the Southern AirClan camp to visit AirClan territory. Meanwhile, Bearclaw encounters an old rival he really feels as a threat towards his quest.**

**AvatarCat11 and Katara: See ya next time!**


	5. The Southern AirClan Camp

**AvatarCat11: Two more days. I just can't wait! (Seeing the confused look on Katara's face) Two more days until we go see our dad.**

**Katara: Oh. I know how you feel to not see your dad in a while.**

**AvatarCat11: Yep. So when is Holly coming?**

**Holly: (Comes into the room) Sorry I'm late, you two. I couldn't find the correct story.**

**AvatarCat11: No problem at all, Holly. Take a seat!**

**Katara: And you can say the disclaimer.**

**Holly: Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: AvatarCat11 would be living in Beverly Hills if he owned Avatar: The Last AirBender or Warrior Cats. But he doesn't own them. And he does not own the song They Live In You; it belongs to The Lion King on Broadway.**

**Summary: When their journey begins, Goldpaw and his new friends go to the Southern AirClan camp to visit AirClan territory. Meanwhile, Bearclaw encounters an old rival he really feels as a threat towards his quest.**

**Updating Date: November 12, 2011**

**AvatarCat09 and Aang: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Southern AirClan Camp_

Goldpaw let out a stretch and a yawn at the same time. The young Avatar Cat and his new friends, Silverpaw and Ashpaw, had traveled on Archie for one day before resting near a riverbank for the night. But Goldpaw couldn't wait to get to the Southern AirClan camp, his home.

Earlier the day before, Goldpaw had told Silverpaw and Ashpaw about the four seasons and what they look like. And to show them, he stopped Archie at a coniferous forest to show them a very snowless place. Silverpaw was amazed at this and was eager to explore, but Ashpaw remained skeptical, thinking they never heard of this before.

While Ashpaw slept on after the sun began to rise, Goldpaw was watching Silverpaw do some work on Archie's saddle as he meowed, "Silverpaw, just wait till you see the AirClan camp. It's one of the most beautiful places on the entire planet!"

But Silverpaw had a concerned look in her eyes when she mewed, "I know that you're excited about seeing your home again, Goldpaw. But you haven't been at your camp for fourteen years."

"That's why I'm psyched!" Goldpaw squeaked with happiness while adjusting Archie's reins.

"Well, it's just that many things can happen over these years," the silver she-cat replied as she continued her work on Archie's saddle; she was focusing on adjusting it so the cats and their stuff didn't fall off while they fly.

Goldpaw knew what she said could be true, but he wanted to see if it confirmed what Silverpaw told him. He wanted to see it for himself.

"Don't worry, Silverpaw," he told her. "But I need to see if it really changed."

He jumped down from Archie's head and padded over to Ashpaw, who was still asleep in his nest and blanket of moss. "Hey, Ashpaw, wake up!" Goldpaw meowed to him, poking him with his paw. "We're going to the AirClan camp!"

But Ashpaw just rolled around, muttering groggily, "Sleep now, temple later."

Goldpaw wasn't happy with that answer. He wanted to go to his camp right away, so after a few blinks, he got an idea. While Silverpaw watched, Goldpaw climbed onto Archie and suddenly leaped from his head onto Ashpaw, causing him to wake up.

"Ashpaw! Wake up! A rattlesnake just slid into your nest!"

Immediately, Ashpaw jumped up with parts of the moss clinging to him as he yelped, "Oh, shit! Get it away from me! Get it away from me!" He kept prancing around until he lost balance and fell face-first to the ground. Silverpaw purred with amusement while Ashpaw began to grumble, looking very irritated.

Goldpaw purred, "Good, you're finally awake! Now we can go!"

With that said, he grabbed Ashpaw by the scruff and dragged him onto Archie while Silverpaw gathered the goods. When all of that was done, Goldpaw told Archie, "Yip yip!" and the dragon rose into the sky and floated off into the air. Goldpaw was finally going home.

Going to where he was raised ever since he was nothing but a tiny fluff of fur.

**...**

Meanwhile, at a harbor full of dark gray metal ships, Bearclaw and Irontail were pacing around the area. Bearclaw glared at his damaged ship, which was much smaller than the rest of the ships in the harbor.

He couldn't believe a young apprentice had done this to his ship. He still couldn't believe that the young golden cat he battled was the Avatar Cat. But chasing him down would have to wait for later; right now, he needed to have his ship fixed.

The young dark brown tabby cat turned to his uncle and meowed, "Uncle Irontail, we can't stay for long and risk losing his trail. We have to get our ship repaired as quickly as possible."

"You mean, losing the Avatar Cat's trail?" Irontail asked him, tilting his head to one side.

"Don't say his name here! What the hell is wrong with you?" Bearclaw hissed. He looked around quickly and meowed lowly, "If someone hears that the Avatar Cat is alive, every cat in FireClan will try looking for him. I can't let them get in our way!"

"Get in the way of what, Bearclaw?" a calm and familiar voice meowed.

Bearclaw groaned and turned around to see a dark brown tom with orange eyes and a stumpy tail pad over to them, his head held high. He looked as if he held an important position in his Clan.

The tabby tom snarled with dislike in his voice, "Hello, Thornflare, warrior of FireClan."

Thornflare held up a paw to lick it and swipe it over his ear while he meowed, "Actually, I've been promoted to a senior warrior now." He turned away from Bearclaw and dipped his head to Irontail as he went on, "And greetings, Irontail, senior warrior and hero of FireClan."

The elderly gray tabby tom dipped his head and replied, "Actually, I'm a retired senior warrior."

"Well, the FireClan leader's older brother and son are welcome as my guests anytime," the dark brown tom meowed, waving his stumpy tail. Bearclaw knew of how his tail was bitten off by a bear since bears have been pushing badgers out of their territory.

_How'd you like the rest of it clawed off?_ he growled mentally at him as Thornflare continued, "What brings you around here to my army's territory?"

"Our ship's being fixed," Irontail meowed, pointing with his tail at the ship.

Thornflare looked up and down at the scar on the ship. "Well, that's quite a scar it's got there."

"I'll say. You'll never believe what happened," Bearclaw replied agreeing with Thornflare for only once in his life. He glanced at Irontail from a sideways look as he turned to him to meow, "Uncle Irontail, tell him what happened to this ship."

The fat gray tabby gave his nephew a wide-eyed stare as if he couldn't believe Bearclaw was going to make him say what happened. But he steadied himself as he told Thornflare, "Yes, it was amazing! What did we crash into?" he added to Bearclaw quietly.

Bearclaw cleared his throat uneasily and answered, "Um, we...oh, yeah! We crashed right into an EarthClan ship! You should've seen those cats. They got so pissed at us."

"Oh, really?" the short-tailed FireClan warrior meowed. "You'll have to tell me all about the details." He went around padding away, but he stopped to meow over his shoulder, "Would you two like to come and have a drink with me?"

"Sorry, but we need to leave," Bearclaw meowed as he started to pad away, but Irontail gently grabbed his nephew's tail with his teeth and pulled him back.

"Bearclaw, please show senior warrior Thornflare some respect," the gray tabby tom chided him. To the dark brown stumpy-tailed tom, he answered, "It would be an honor to join you for a drink. Do you have any Swedish cream with you?"

While Thornflare nodded, Bearclaw let out a growl of anger and unsheathed his claws helplessly. There was nothing for him to do now as he reluctantly followed his uncle and his rival away from the docks to where they could have a drink. He didn't want a drink, but like Irontail said, he should show his respect.

Before he followed his uncle inside the tent, Bearclaw glared over his shoulder towards the rising sun. Finding the Avatar Cat would have to wait.

**...**

While Archie was flying, Goldpaw glanced back at his two friends to see how they were doing. Silverpaw was staring ahead and looking worried while Goldpaw heard some kind of strange noise. He turned to see that Ashpaw was muttering something to his growling stomach. The Avatar Cat thought that this cat was the hungry kind, always wanting to eat.

Ashpaw meowed to his growling belly, "Shut up, belly. I'll try to find and get some food for us." He reached into the orange bag and felt around inside it when he felt an empty space. He threw the bag aside to the floor of the saddle as he meowed to the others, "All right, who ate all the rest of my penguin jerky?"

Goldpaw now realized that when he had collected firewood, it wasn't firewood; it was food. "Oh, that was the jerky?" he mewed to the dark gray apprentice. "Mouse-dung, I used it for firewood last night. My bad."

"You WHAT?" Ashpaw yelped. Then he sunk low in the saddle and whined, "Oh, shit. That's why the fire smelled delicious."

As they flew on, Archie passed over a small group of mountains and Goldpaw seemed to know what these mountains really are. "Hey, it's the Stone Mountain Range! We're nearly there!"

"Goldpaw," Silverpaw's uneasy meow spoke from right beside him. He turned to see her beside him as the silver she-cat went on, "Before we get to your camp, I need to tell you something about the AirBending cats."

"What about them?" Goldpaw asked her, tilting his head to one side.

"I just want you to be prepared for what you find. FireClan is a very ruthless Clan. And they killed our mother. So they might've done the same thing to your Clan." When she said that, she hung her head in sorrow.

But Goldpaw was just feeling hopeful as he reassured her, "I don't think FireClan wiped out all of AirClan because no cat's seen an AirClan cat in moons. Maybe they made camp somewhere else."

Silverpaw's facial look didn't change because she mewed, "I know, but it'll be hard accepting it."

"You just don't understand, Silverpaw," Goldpaw told her. "The only way to an AirClan camp is on an Asian Lung dragon. FireClan won't have any. Right, Archie?" he added to Archie, who gave a grunt of affirmation.

Goldpaw gave the dragon a "Yip yip" and he went a little faster and higher, but the high wind caused the WaterClan cats to shield themselves from the high cold wind. Archie rose above an outcrop of rocks, and before them was a large mountain with trees and small buildings and dens. And towering above all the dens, trees, and buildings was an enormous temple in the center of the camp.

Goldpaw couldn't believe it; he and Archie made it back.

"There it is, guys," he meowed. "The southern AirClan camp!"

"Goldpaw, it's awesome!" Silverpaw squeaked with awe at the massive camp.

Goldpaw patted Archie on the head with his forepaw as he purred, "Archie, we made it back. We're home."

**...**

Bearclaw let out another irritated sigh. Irontail had to partly drag him to the tent of Thornflare, where the two older toms were talking about how the Great War was going. Two guards were placed at the entrance where no invading cat could enter.

_Or maybe to keep us in_, he thought bitterly. He glanced over at Irontail who was sniffing at the weapons on the wall looking interested. Meanwhile, Thornflare had his back toward him while he was studying a map on the wall.

Without looking back, the stumpy-tailed brown tom meowed to both of them, "By the time this year ends, EarthClan's capital Clan will be under the rule of FireClan. And Darkstar will finally achieve easy victory in this war."

"If my father thinks all cats are going to easily follow them, he's damn wrong," Bearclaw spat bitterly, unsheathing his claws. He just wanted to return to FireClan and his father in honor.

However, Thornflare must have heard that because he meowed, "So it seems two moons out in the ocean has sharpened your temper like claws on stone. So how's your search for the Avatar Cat doing?" he added unexpectedly.

Suddenly, a clatter of iron crashed to the ground and the cat who had tipped them by over by accident was Irontail. The clatter had distracted the cats from what they were saying and they turned to glance at the fat tabby tom, who cringed from his mistake.

"My apologies, Thornflare. I didn't look where I was going." Then he got up to wash his paws and he had received one more glance from Thornflare, who turned back towards Bearclaw.

Bearclaw went back to saying, "We didn't see him yet."

"I didn't expect you to," the senior warrior replied, getting up and pacing around Bearclaw. "The Avatar Cat died fourteen years ago along with the rest of AirClan. Unless you found a sign that he's still living," he added in a sly and menacing tone.

Bearclaw looked back to the ground with guilt. There was no way that Thornflare should ever be told about the Avatar Cat or where he was hiding. He looked back to where Irontail padded off to and he wished his uncle could back him up. _Why'd he have to knock that junk over?_ he hissed to himself.

Out loud, he answered, "No, we haven't seen any sign of him."

Thornflare stopped pacing and sat down in front of the young tabby, leaned forward to him face-to-face with orange eyes glowing angrily, and growled, "You little ass, every cat, from the oldest elder to the youngest kit, know the only thing that can stop FireClan from winning victory in this war is the Avatar Cat." Leaning forward more, he added, "If you had _any_ loyalty left to FireClan, you'd tell me what you may have found."

That hit Bearclaw's nerve like a blow from a badger's paw. How dare this piece of crowfood question him about his loyalty to his Clan! He hissed, "I told you already: I didn't _find _anything. Like you said: the Avatar Cat died fourteen years ago." When Irontail came back from the wash-room, Bearclaw padded toward the entrance and called over his shoulder, "Come on, Uncle, let's get out of here."

But the guards kept on blocking the way. But they let a brown tom in, who meowed, "Sir, you told us to question the crew of the damaged ship and we did just that. They told us that Bearclaw had the Avatar Cat in his paws, but he let him go."

"Thank you," Thornflare meowed to the brown tom. Then, turning back to Bearclaw while the guards blocked the entrance of the camp, he hissed lowly, "Now remind me how you got that scar on your ship."

Bearclaw looked down in defeat. It looked like they were now busted and they had to suffer some dire penalties. He looked even more down when the guards began leering down at him.

**...**

Back at the AirClan territory, Goldpaw and his small pack were beginning to start exploring the camp. A long winding path was curving back and forth across the rock face of the temple's mountain. Three little figures can be seen walking up toward the temple.

One of those figures was racing ahead of the others. Goldpaw leaped around the corner of a piece of path while the WaterClan apprentice followed slowly.

"When are we going to hunt? I'm starving," Ashpaw called to Goldpaw irately while sitting down and moaning to show his irritation and hunger.

Silverpaw sighed. "You dumbass. You're lucky to be one of the only non-AirClan cats to visit an AirClan temple for moons! And all you talk about is food?"

Ashpaw snapped, "Look, I'm just a cat with simple cat needs." His sister gave him a frustrated glare at him before they tried to race after him.

Goldpaw had been waiting for his friends to come because he didn't want to leave them behind. The WaterClan cats finally caught up with their Avatar Cat friend and he started speaking. He was using his tail to point at an open rocky area with tall pointed rocks and two large bracken bushes.

"This is the arena where my fellow apprentices would play a game called 'Air Ball!'"

Then he started to point at other places, meowing slowly, "And...that huge cave over there was where the dragons made their nests...and..." Then he stopped, looking down at the ground with a mild depression.

"Goldpaw, what's wrong?" Silverpaw meowed to him, worried about his depressed look. She didn't want the golden tom to look so unhappy when they had just arrived at his home.

The golden tom looked at her with homesick gray eyes as he mewed, "I don't get it. This part of AirClan was always chock-full with travelers, dragons, and hawks. But now it's full of weeds and other crap like that. Things really _did_ change."

He looked down at the partly snowy ground. Silverpaw remembered Goldpaw saying that several places where they would go would be the time she and Ashpaw would start shedding their leaf-bare coats. But this wasn't the time to think about fur; this was the time to try and cheer him up.

Ashpaw looked worried for his new friend, for he changed the subject: "So what about that 'Air Ball' game you were ranting about? How do you play it?"

But he just got a smile from Goldpaw's face.

More than a few minutes later, both Goldpaw and Ashpaw were high on the playing rocks while Silverpaw watched from below. She just wanted to let Goldpaw enjoy himself with playing a game. She couldn't help but smile when she saw him leap easily onto the tip of one of the rocks.

As soon as the toms were ready, Goldpaw began bending air around a rapidly spinning ball to keep it floating above his outstretched right paw. Suddenly, he let the air ball slide around on his head and back and he lifted it off to give it a kick into the sky with his hind legs. As Ashpaw watched it fly high, Goldpaw sat down and looked lazily at the sky, waiting for the ball to come back down.

When he saw the ball coming back down, he turned the other way and gave the returning ball a well-deserved kick at the rocks, which allowed the ball to simply bounce off of them. The ball came dashing at Ashpaw, who had no time for dodging. As he got hit, he fell softly into the snow on the ground.

Goldpaw threw back his head to let out a happy yowl: "Ha! Me: three. You: none!"

Silverpaw was glad her brother was alright while he grumbled, "Keeping that tom happy will be the death of me yet." But Silverpaw saw Ashpaw's pale blue eyes narrow with suspicion as he called, "Silverpaw, look at this."

She padded over to him and saw what Ashpaw saw: a piece of FireClan armor laying there on the ground; it looked burnt and clawed. "FireClan armor," she snorted.

"Should we tell him?" her brother asked.

Silverpaw nodded, knowing that Goldpaw needed to know right now. So she turned around on the spot and called, "Hey, Goldpaw! We want to show you something!"

"Okay!" Goldpaw called back as he was leaping joyfully down from the rocks with the air ball in his jaws.

Silverpaw began to look from the FireClan armor and the excited golden Avatar Cat, having second thoughts about showing him the horrible discovery. She wasn't sure how his reaction would be if he discovered some of the armor here. But he would be devastated if he found out about the disappearance of his Clan.

_Now's not the right time,_ she decided as she flicked her tail at some hanging snow on a birch tree. Immediately, the snow fell from the top of the branches down onto the armor lying in front of her; she even covered Ashpaw in it, making him start growling again. But Silverpaw just ignored him as Goldpaw came nearer.

Goldpaw had arrived just in time and mewed, "So what's up, Silverpaw?"

"Oh, it's...uh...a new WaterBending move I wanted to show you," she mewed hesitantly.

"That's nice," he replied, giving the snow pile a nod. "But we can practice after we explore the Temple. I'll show you! Come on!" He dashed away with his tail waving happily in the air.

Ashpaw was now digging his way out of the snow; as he shook himself like a wet dog, he told Silverpaw, "You can't keep him safe forever. He'll be bound to find out sooner or later."

Silverpaw mewed, "I know, Ashpaw."

And she agreed with him. Now wasn't the right time to tell Goldpaw about their discovery, but what if he found it if they went into the Temple? A shiver of uncertainty flooded inside her as she and Ashpaw tried to keep up with their friend once again.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

The three cats finally made it to the entrance of the AirClan Temple, but Silverpaw and Ashpaw were busy whispering to one another. Goldpaw didn't hear what the two WaterClan apprentices were talking. But if he did, he didn't know what they were talking about.

Ashpaw was hissing to his sister, "FireClan warriors came here, Silverpaw. You can't pretend they didn't come."

"I'll pretend for Goldpaw's sake," Silverpaw responded while padding away to catch up with Goldpaw. But Ashpaw raced forward to catch up with his sister and she didn't move away from him or push him away.

Ashpaw must have whispered something else because Silverpaw snapped quietly, "Well, if we tell him or he finds out FireClan have been here, he's going to be really upset."

"Hey, guys! Come look at this!" Goldpaw yowled to them, realizing that they were lagging behind and muttering something to one another.

The two other cats finally caught up to him and Goldpaw pointed to the statue of an old tomcat. When they saw the statue, Ashpaw meowed, "Who's that cat?"

Goldpaw touched the statue's paws with his tail before explaining, "Here's someone you'd like to meet. This is my mentor, Goldenstripe. He taught me all I know. He's the best AirBender on the entire planet!"

_**(Author's Note: Flashbacks will be in italics like this, so don't be confused.)**_

_**...**_

_**(Goldpaw's Flashback)**_

_There was a large balcony at the side of the AirClan Temple, and sitting on top of the railing of the balcony was Goldpaw before he was frozen in the White Stone. An old golden tabby tom with the same arrow marking like Goldpaw, pale blue eyes, and a white muzzle was gradually pulling something out of an oven._

_After the Twolegs became extinct, the warrior Clans became useful in doing things that Twolegs would normally do. They could do things like writing a paper, baking some food, and grabbing stuff in their paws as well as their mouths._

Ingonyama nengw' enamabala

Ingonyama nengw' enamabala

_While Goldpaw was just sitting there and eating a small mouse, Goldenstripe was holding a long spatula in his paw with a pie at the end of it. He appeared to have just pulled out the pie from the mouth of the large oven. Goldenstripe then AirBended some colorful filling into an attractive pile in the middle of it. Then he was meowing in a voice filled with old age and wisdom._

_"The true secret to the making of a pie is the fruity sticky center."_

_Goldpaw just nodded and meowed inattentively, "That's nice."_

_Goldenstripe didn't snap at him for not paying attention; instead, he meowed, "So my ancient art of making pies isn't the only thing that is on your mind right now, isn't it, Goldpaw?"_

Night

And the spirit of life

Calling (Oh oh iyo)

Mamela (Oh oh iyo)

"_Yes, sir," Goldpaw replied, getting up and beginning to stretch. "It's just the entire Avatar Cat thing. Maybe the travelers made a mistake in choosing me."_

"_The only mistake they made was telling you before you could become a warrior," Goldenstripe explained to his apprentice. "But we cannot worry about what has happened. Instead, we must focus on what has become."_

_As he explained, he pointed his tail to large groups of cats on the ground either talking, playing, hunting, or grooming each other. Large, white, furry dragons were browsing happily on large sums of ostrich eggs and small red-tailed hawks were feasting on spilt yolk. It looked so peaceful right now that Goldpaw almost forgot his worries right there and then._

_He let out a sigh. "But how do I know I'll be ready, Goldenstripe? I don't think I'll ever be."_

_The old golden tabby leaped up to the railing beside Goldpaw and replied, "The questions you have will be answered when you enter the Sanctuary of the AirClan Temple as a senior warrior. Inside, you will meet someone who will guide you on your journey."_

_And a voice_

_With the fear of a child_

_Answers (Oh oh iyo)_

_Mamela (Oh oh iyo)_

"_Wow! Who will it be?" Goldpaw meowed, now paying attention as he sat up quickly._

"_When the time is right, he will be revealed to you," came Goldenstripe's cryptic response._

_When Goldpaw huffed with defeat and boredom again, the golden-striped elder added teasingly, "Would you like to help me with these pies? These pies are filled with fresh rabbit meat and custard filling, and the AirClan warriors are ready for some."_

_Goldpaw's dark gray eyes lit up with enthusiasm as he nodded and stood beside his mentor. They took up their AirBending stances as they gazed at the pies and they both sprang back, creating balls of wind with their AirBending skill when Goldenstripe began counting. Both released their air balls on the count of three, driving the pies high into the air and sending them off with kicks._

_The pies made a distinctive whizzing noise as they came down. The two of them watched as the pies flew at four meditating warriors, who were soon each wearing one of the four pies. As the pies splattered onto the fur of the four warriors, they were soon surrounded by red-tailed hawks that begin feasting on the rabbit meat in the pies. These hawks were far from their fearful kit-snatching ancestors; instead, they were now like pet parrots._

_Both toms, young and elderly, began to purr at that little incident, then they dipped their heads toward one another like any warrior or apprentice would do. Goldenstripe stretched one of his forepaws forward and rested it on Goldpaw's head._

_"I am proud to see that your aim has improved well, my young apprentice," the elderly warrior praised him._

_Wait_

_There's no mountain too great_

_Hear these words and have faith (Oh oh iyo)_

_Oh oh iyo_

_Have faith_

**(End of Flashback)**

Goldpaw purred at that memory, one that he would treasure forever. He dipped his head to the statue of Goldenstripe like he did for the real one.

"You miss your mentor, don't you?" Silverpaw murmured, padding up behind him and placing a paw on his shoulder.

Goldpaw looked at her and replied, "Yeah, I miss him every day." He got up and started to pad away from them and to the entrance of the AirClan Temple.

He turned around to hear Silverpaw meow out to him, "Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm going to the AirClan Sanctuary. There's someone I'm ready to meet," he replied over his shoulder as he padded on. Silverpaw glanced at her brother, who just gave her a small shrug, and they followed their gold-pelted friend.

When they met up with him, they were staring at the door to the Sanctuary. It was a huge wooden door that was dominated by an enormous woodcut comprised of three air symbols protruding from its surface. They were arranged in a triangular pattern. The symbols were attached to tubes that end in two horns near the bottom of the woodcut.

Silverpaw took one look at the door and insisted, "But no cat could've lived here for fourteen years, Goldpaw."

But his reply was, "But Silverpaw, it's not that impossible. Don't forget I lived in a White Stone for that long."

"Oh, yeah," the silver she-cat mewed, looking away from him. "That's a good point."

"There's another thing," Goldpaw continued. "Whoever's in the Sanctuary will help me out with my Avatar Cat problem!"

Suddenly, Ashpaw popped up from behind the golden tom, wagging his tail. "And whoever's in the Sanctuary thing will have a huge platter of nicely cooked fish!"

He immediately started to lunge at the door and began clawing at it. He kept at it until his claws began to ache and he slumped down. "Damn it. Hey, Goldpaw," he added to his companion. "Do you need a key to open this door?"

Goldpaw gently dragged Ashpaw away from the door and answered, "Not just any key. The true key is AirBending!"

He let out a deep breath as he composed himself by standing on his hind legs and drew in his breath. He raised his front legs perpendicular to his body, and then he suddenly pushed forward with his front legs and stepped forward with his right hind leg. He AirBended two jets of air, one from each paw, into the horns at the bottom of the woodcut.

The air ran through the tubes and one by one flipped the air symbols from the blue sides which had been showing to the maroon sides, which had been facing the interior of the temple. As each turns, it flipped another device on the outside of the door to unlock it. The two leaves of the door opened to reveal the dark cavernous interior of the AirClan Temple Sanctuary.

Goldpaw raced into the Sanctuary, calling out to no one in particular, "Hello? Is anyone here?"

But no one answered his call even when Silverpaw and Ashpaw stepped warily into the area.

**...**

"So a young AirClan apprentice beat the tails of you and your best FireBenders? You're a more worthless piece of shit than I ever thought." This was Thornflare speaking to an angry Bearclaw, whose face was contorted with fury. Irontail was sitting nearby and looking nervous.

Bearclaw hissed, "I doubted his strength once, but I promise you it won't happen again."

"You're right. That won't happen ever again," Thornflare meowed while glaring at him again. Then he added in a more menacing tone, "Because you're not going to have a second chance."

_What? When did he get the authority to do this kind of stuff?_ Bearclaw gasped silently to himself in alarm. Out loud, he started to protest, "But Thornflare, I've been hunting for the Avatar Cat for two moons and..."

But he didn't get to finish because Thornflare slammed his paw down onto the table as it was on fire and he snarled, "And you failed in your mission! Darkstar raised a coward indeed." As he towered over the dark tabby tom, he went on, "Capturing the Avatar Cat is too much of a job to leave in the paws of a banished warrior. He's my target now."

Bearclaw let out a snarl of rage, furious about this injustice pushed at him, and he pounced at Thornflare with frustration and rage. But he was suddenly pulled back by two large guards as he hissed at Thornflare, "Damn you to Hell, you piece of crowfood!"

Thornflare ignored the young warrior's threats as he meowed to the guards, "Keep them here. Don't let them escape."

Still livid, Bearclaw slashed with claws unsheathed at the table they were talking at. Since it was near Irontail, the gray tabby elder silently and calmly scooted away from the table as the wood from it was sliced off and into the air. But he remained calm as he meowed, "May it be all right if we could get some more cream?"

**...**

Meanwhile, back at the AirClan Sanctuary, the three apprentices were looking around the room in awe. The pattern on the ground was a swirling blue and on that pattern were lots and lots of statues of cats. The three young cats walked among these statues as they headed to the center of the Sanctuary's room.

Ashpaw groaned, "That's it? There's nothing but statues! Where's the fish?"

But Goldpaw and Silverpaw ignored the dark gray tabby tom as they continued padding around the statues. Silverpaw was glancing from one statue to another as she mewed to Goldpaw, "Who are these cats, Goldpaw?"

"You know what? I'm not sure, but for some reason, I just know them. Look!" he added, pointing to the statue of another cat with his tail. "I know this statue was an AirBender! You can tell by the sleek looks of his muscles and fur."

"And this cat must be a WaterBender," Silverpaw meowed, reaching out with her paw to touch another statue. "It seems these cats are lined up in a pattern: air, water, earth, and fire."

Goldpaw nodded and replied, "Then that's the Avatar Cat cycle."

He saw the silver apprentice smack the top of her head with her paw lightly as she meowed, "Of course! These cats are past Avatar Cats. And all these cats must be your past lives, Goldpaw."

"Great StarClan, there's a lot of them!" Goldpaw answered, staring up at the statues until they reached the roof of the sanctuary. While Goldpaw leaped away from her, Ashpaw prowled up to his sister and gave her a skeptical glance.

"Past lives? Only Clan leaders get lives! Don't tell me you believe in all this cloud-fluff!"

"It's not cloud-fluff! It's true!" Silverpaw retorted, not believing that her littermate would doubt the power of StarClan and the Avatar Cat. "The Avatar Cat gets reborn into the next Clan when he or she dies. For example, an Avatar Cat who was born in AirClan gets reborn into WaterClan when he or she dies."

Ashpaw gave his littermate a shrug as he turned his attention toward Goldpaw, who was gazing long and hard into the eyes of what had been a FireBending Avatar Cat. A light suddenly made its way across the eyes of the statue, marking its importance. Getting a little worried about him, Silverpaw padded up behind him and started shaking him on the shoulder with her muzzle.

"Goldpaw, snap out of it." When she gave him a shake so sensitive he whirled around to face her, she went on, "Who's that cat you keep staring at?"

"Huh? Oh, that's Avatar Cat Whitestorm of FireClan. He was the Avatar Cat before I succeeded him," Goldpaw told her as he shook himself entirely awake.

Ashpaw padded up right beside his friend as he gasped, "Wow. So you were a FireBending cat. That must be why I didn't like you when we met. And wasn't there a cat named Whitestorm in the four ancient Clans?"

"That's right. But there isn't any writing on the statue," Silverpaw added, sniffing the statue and feeling it with her whiskers. "How can you tell who he is or what Clan he once belonged to?" she meowed when she was finished sniffing at the statue.

Goldpaw shuffled his forepaws and sheepishly told her, "I...I don't know. I could just tell. That's all."

"Well, you can't get any stranger than this," Ashpaw growled in frustration. But suddenly he pricked up his ears and he hushed them, whispering, "Listen, you guys. Can you hear that?"

The gold and silver cats stopped talking and pricked up their ears; a few seconds later, a tapping noise was echoing around the room. They realized that someone, or something, was coming at them from the entrance of the Temple. A shadow without ears was growing on the floor and it seemed to get closer by the second.

The two cats began to back away, and all three hid behind the statues of different Avatar Cats. Goldpaw and Silverpaw his behind the statue of a she-cat while Ashpaw hid behind a tom. The shadow began to creep closer to them and it was making the same weird clicking noise as it walked closer.

While they hid, Ashpaw whispered to his sister and the Avatar Cat, "All right. There's a FireClan cat around here. Nobody makes any noise."

Silverpaw hissed back, "You're making a noise too! Shut the hell up!"

But both tomcats hissed to her to quiet down as the shadow began to creep closer.

_We'll have to fight our way out of this mess,_ Goldpaw decided as the shadow of the mysterious animal got nearer and nearer.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

As the earless shadow got larger as it moved forward, Ashpaw immediately unsheathed his claws while holding his boomerang bone in his mouth. He already looked as if the intruder was leaping at him with claws unsheathed.

"That FireClan warrior will be running out of here with his tail between his legs," the dark gray tabby tom muttered.

But when Ashpaw leaped out from behind the statue and growled while Goldpaw and Silverpaw peeped around their statue, he stopped to see what the intruder was. It was a bird and the reason why its shadow was huge was because of the light of the sun outside the Temple. And this bird was in fact a red-tailed hawk with unusual green eyes.

Normally, hawks' eyes were dark and black, but this one had bright green eyes. The bird-of-prey tilted its head as it stared unblinking at the three cats before it.

Goldpaw couldn't believe that hawks were still living at the AirClan camp, so he yowled happily, "Hawk!"

But Ashpaw was drooling and murmuring absently, "Lunch!"

"Hey, don't listen to him! You can be our new pet!" Goldpaw coaxed the hawk, taking a very careful step toward it.

He knew that some animals did not like being cuddled at all, and if you would try to cuddle a dangerous animal, you would end up as fresh-kill. But this hawk wasn't dangerous for right now; it was a young juvenile male and his red tail feathers were already beginning to bloom.

"Well, not if I catch it first!" Ashpaw retorted, crouching into a hunter's crouch.

Then he sprung with all his might by using his back legs as a spring. His pale blue eyes were wide with hunger as his claws stretched out and ready to catch the bird. Goldpaw did the same, but his claws were sheathed and he was ready to make friends with him.

But Goldpaw knew hawks could be smart, for the hawk started to screech as he took off into the air and flew away from the three cats. Both weren't ready to give up because they were running after it while Silverpaw was watching with confusion.

As the hawk flew on, the two toms were shouting out stuff like this: "Come back, hawk! Wait for me!" "Come back! I just wanna eat you!"

The cats continued chasing the hawk while they were going down the hallway of the Sanctuary. As they ran, Goldpaw and Ashpaw were making mimic bites at one another so that only one of them could get in the lead. Suddenly, Ashpaw tried to use his boomerang bone to try and trip the young golden tom, but Goldpaw instead jumped up at the wall and began to race alongside it, laughing at the shocked look on the dark gray tom's face.

Once he got far enough, he whipped up some air around with his tail into the form a sphere and he kicked it at Ashpaw. The sphere hit him in the belly and it swept him off his paws and onto the ground. Laughing, Goldpaw leaped away and continued chasing after the hawk.

"Ow. That hurts," he muttered as he watched Goldpaw run off. But Goldpaw couldn't hear him say it because he ran out to a balcony outside.

As the hawk landed on the railing of the balcony, he looked back to see Goldpaw running right at him. So he spread his wings and took off while plunging down towards the ground. Without any fear, Goldpaw leaped onto the railing and jumped down after the bird-of-prey.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Ashpaw grumbled, catching up just in time to see him jump off.

Goldpaw turned back to see the distance between him and the long way away from the veranda. Instead of crying with fear, he began laughing with excitement. He started leaping on hanging trees or even rocks to steady his fall before leaping down again to chase after the hawk.

**...**

As Thornflare gathered his troops with arrogant confidence before entering the tent, Bearclaw tried to hold back a snarl, but that was failing. _That poisonpaws think he can catch the Avatar Cat while I watch?_

This wasn't supposed to happen, he would have wailed loudly. He was the one who should look for him!

Thornflare turned around to Bearclaw and Irontail, who were sitting nearby, and he hissed softly, "My search-and-capture party is ready to go. Once we head out to sea, and I mean by me and not you two, my warriors will take you back to the ship where you came and you'll be free to go."

"Why the hell do you say that? You worried I'm going to stop you?" Bearclaw taunted the senior warrior.

"You? Stop me?" Thornflare snorted and laughed with evil amusement. "I don't think it's much of a challenge, you earless freak. Can't you see I'm impossible to stop?"

Bearclaw, fuming to the head now, stood up and spat, "Never misjudge your foe, Thornflare! I'll make sure I get the Avatar Cat before you can!"

"Bearclaw, that's enough! Now please sit down!" Irontail hissed as he tried vainly to pull his nephew down to make him sit. The old tabby tom's amber eyes were glowing with worry.

Thornflare gave a jeering laugh and retorted, "Are you shitting me? You can't compete with me. I have hundreds of warships and cats under my command, and you? You're just an exiled rogue with no home or allies to go to. Look at your own father; he doesn't want you!"

"You're wrong! When I bring the Avatar Cat back to Darkstar, I'll have my honor and my right as deputy restored," Bearclaw protested, feeling ticked off. He would show Thornflare what a powerful warrior and FireBender he could really be.

"Come on," the stumpy-tailed tom simply meowed. "If Darkstar wanted you home, he'd take you back by now, Avatar Cat or no Avatar Cat. But to him, you are a disgrace, failure, and scourge of FireClan."

Bearclaw flinched at those words, but there was no way he was going to let this big-mouthed cat tell him what he was or what he wasn't. He had been working hard for two moons to try and find the Avatar Cat, but Thornflare was taunting him as if he couldn't even catch a mosquito. It was clear that this cat was testing his loyalty to prove he was a traitor.

He took one paw-step forward and growled, "That's not true! How dare you say that?"

But Thornflare didn't seem to be bothered. "Well, you _do _have the scar to prove it, smartass."

With a cry of outrage, Bearclaw launched himself to his paws, bringing his face tail-lengths of the senior warrior's face. "Maybe you'd like to fight for that one!" he snarled.

Now Thornflare glared at him as he growled, "Is that a challenge?"

"Yes. I challenge you to an Agni Kai. At sundown," the dark tabby tom meowed with rage.

"Very well," Thornflare answered him. "It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me beat the fox-dung out of you. I guess your uncle will do when he watches me humble you." With a last sneer, the dark brown warrior padded out of the tent to probably get ready.

_He better get ready, _Bearclaw thought bitterly. _That way, _I'll _be the one who will humble him, not the other way around._

He felt Irontail's paw touch his shoulder tightly with worry as his uncle murmured, "You recall what happened when you fought against a master FireBender, Bearclaw?"

Bearclaw gritted his teeth in pain; he could remember that like he could remember his way about the FireClan Palace. There wasn't any way that he should ever forget it and he would show his father he was a good warrior. To his uncle, he mewed, "Yes, I remember. I never forget."

He looked away from his uncle Irontail and stared back out of the tent, his claws unsheathing at the vision of a fight with the cat he despised very much. He also wanted to beat him so he could get back on the path to finding the Avatar Cat.

**...**

Goldpaw took a mighty pounce at the hawk on the ground, but the scared bird got out of the way and Goldpaw slammed hard onto the ground. Despite the long fall, he was still up and ready for more chasing the hawk.

He saw the hawk fly into a red pelt covering some kind of cavern in a decaying building. "Hey, hawk! Come back here!" the young golden cat called to him as he raced in after the hawk. When he got inside, he began opening his mouth to drink in the scent of the hawk as he mewed, "That hungry cat won't bother you. You can come out now."

Goldpaw found another drape as he followed the scent. He pushed it open and he went through, but the scene he saw next shocked him.

The clearing in front of him was littered with scorch marks, dried stale blood, FireClan armor, and skeletons of dead fighting cats. Some skeletons were lying all by themselves while others had been entangled too much in their fight like garter snakes in the mating season. It looked like many cats were fighting and died during a demolition. The bones were glinting in the sunlight, giving them a lustrous glow.

"What the hell?" Goldpaw whispered in surprise. "FireClan cats came here? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

But what he saw at the back of the cavern really scared and saddened him.

At the back of the grotto laid the skeletal remains of an AirBender warrior. The skeletal remains were bathed in sunlight coming from above; this familiar cat had perhaps died in battle fighting against great and difficult odds. And he saw who it was when he saw a certain necklace of an Air symbol around the skeleton's neck.

"No...Goldenstripe..." Goldpaw whimpered, lying on the ground with his tail and ears drooping with devastation.

He couldn't believe it; all of his Clan, his beloved AirClan, had been wiped out by FireClan cats. Goldpaw didn't know why FireClan would do this, but they had broken the Warrior Code. And what was worse was that his Clan was gone.

Gone forever.

**...**

Meanwhile, Ashpaw pushed his way through the red curtain to a building Goldpaw went into. He was really hungry for bird meat, and he hoped Goldpaw would at least catch that hawk for him.

"Hey, Goldpaw!" he called for the young apprentice. "Where are you? Did you get my fresh-kill yet?"

But he stopped when he heard someone crying. He reached for another drape, pulled it away with his teeth, and found Goldpaw quietly sobbing about something and his head was lowered. It seemed that Ashpaw had saddened him by threatening to eat the hawk.

_Oh, shit. I made him cry, _he scolded himself. He couldn't stand to see his friend so upset, so he prodded Goldpaw gently on the shoulder. "Hey, Goldpaw. I wasn't gonna eat that hawk. Don't cry, okay? We can go find him and he'll be your new..."

He stopped when he saw what Goldpaw was crying about: there were bones of dead cats strewn everywhere in the clearing. He did a small double take before mewing, "Great StarClan... Let's go, Goldpaw. Things are gonna be okay. Let's get out of here."

But when he placed his paw on Goldpaw's shoulder to gently pull him away from the skeleton of Goldenstripe, the white arrow stripe on the golden apprentice's head began glowing a pure white color. His eyes were pure white also, and, as he lifted his head, they were filled with rage.

Ashpaw began to back away, feeling frightened for Goldpaw. He recalled seeing Goldpaw using the spinning attack on Bearclaw and using WaterBending to wipe out those FireClan cats. But this... This was too unbelievable and horrifying to see.

**...**

Silverpaw continued padding around the Sanctuary of the Temple as she weaved among the statues of the Avatar Cats. She paused to look at the statue of Whitestorm, whose eyes were glowing mysteriously white for some reason. The other statues' eyes began to light up in their natural order all around the room.

Silverpaw knew what was going to happen when she yowled, "Goldpaw, hang on! I'm coming!" When she yowled that, she ran out of the Sanctuary and began following a white light coming from a decaying building.

_Please, great spirits of StarClan. Don't let him destroy this place!_

**...**

An old ginger tabby tom rose to his paws and began to stretch. It was time he looked at the statue of Whitestorm in front of him. But when he looked at it, he saw the eyes of the statue glowing a pure white color and he saw scenes of a pale gray cat and a tabby tom seeing their statues of Avatar Cats glow white. He noticed another elder, a pale tabby tom, prowling by and he called to him:

"Send the message to Darkstar: The Avatar Cat has returned to the world."

**...**

Bearclaw gave a snort of scorn as he took a view of the exterior of an outside FireClan fighting arena, a simple four-walled structure with watch fires on the four towers at each corner. There was one large open gate. The sunset was a glorious mixture of FireClan: red, orange, and yellow.

He gave a glare at Thornflare, who was sharpening his claws on a nearby log in the arena and giving him a smug look on his face. The dark brown tom backed away to let his foe sharpen his own claws before padding to the other side.

"Your FireBending skills are very vital, Bearclaw. Remember them," Irontail drilled him while Bearclaw took his turn to sharpen his own claws.

Bearclaw sighed and meowed, "Uncle, I'll try to remember. I can't let him win."

He gave a puff as he stood in the middle of the arena as he faced Thornflare. Both of their fur was bristling and their claws were unsheathed. "Don't worry, you heap of fox-dung," Thornflare hissed. "This battle will be over before you say 'mouse.'" A gong sounded from somewhere near the entrance to the arena and the battle has begun.

Bearclaw gave a battle screech as he lunged at the dark brown warrior, who easily stepped to the side. He then pounced again with the same attack; this time, he lashed his claws out and slashed his enemy across the cheek. Then he did the same attack one more time, but this time, Thornflare blocked the attack with a Fire Shield fabricated up by his hind legs. While he did this, he had a smug look on his face despite his bleeding cheek.

Hissing with rage, Bearclaw used a Fire Blast from his mouth at Thornflare, but the warrior just stepped out of the way, but he quickly blocked the more intense blasts. Thornflare then rose to his hind legs to slam his paws to the ground and a jet of fire shot out from his pads right at the younger warrior. Bearclaw dodged it in time to hear Irontail calling out advice to his nephew.

"Remember your basics, Bearclaw! Wipe him off his paws!"

Suddenly, Thornflare knocked him to the ground with force and swiped at his face. Bearclaw did his best to try and block each blow, but that was leaving him defenseless. At the last claw swipe, Thornflare grabbed him by the scruff and threw him several fox-lengths away from him. Once again, he pounced at Bearclaw again with his teeth set aflame, but Bearclaw managed to barely dodge the attack. The move held such importance that it was used in the fight three times.

As the young warrior dodged the attack, he quickly got back onto his paws and aimed a sneer over at Thornflare. Bearclaw began dashing straight at his foe with his paws and teeth set on fire. He pounced at the dark brown stubby-tailed cat, who was caught in the flaming claws and teeth, and he fell backwards. Bearclaw turned back towards Irontail as his gray-furred uncle gave him a warm smile of pride. Noticing Thornflare laying on his side, he stalked over to him and planted his paw onto Thornflare's throat.

While Bearclaw raised his other paw to do the final blow, Thornflare glowered up at him with hatred. "Come on! Do it! You'll be doing me a favor!"

Bearclaw lowered his gaze and he slashed out with flames coming out of his claws. But he had chosen to slash at the spot right next to his ears. Thornflare blinked a few times, for he was also trying to blink some blood from his eyes.

"That's really the best you can do?" he taunted Bearclaw nastily. "I was right; your father really _did _raise a coward."

"I'm just warning you: if you ever get in my way, I _will_ do the blow," Bearclaw snapped as he got off of him.

Proud of his first Agni Kai victory and surviving with a bleeding shoulder and cheek, he began to limp away from the defeated Thornflare. He was proud of what he had done, and he would be able to show Darkstar he was a really great warrior.

_Now I'm ready to chase the Avatar Cat and bring my honor back! _Bearclaw thought with pride. _And I don't need anyone getting in my way of doing my task! I'll fight anyone who crosses my path to that goal!_

But he heard a snarl come from behind him and he saw the owner of the snarl: Thornflare had gotten back up and, apparently not giving up yet, pounced at him. Just before Thornflare got a grip of him, Bearclaw saw a blaze of gray dash between them and he saw Irontail grab him by the throat in his jaws and he threw him down onto the ground, disappointment in his amber eyes.

Bearclaw padded up to them and he began to unsheathe his claws, but Irontail held him back by blocking his way. The young dark brown tabby tom flashed his uncle an exasperated glare, ready to complain about this interference.

"Bearclaw, do not ruin your victory," the gray tabby tomcat meowed. He faced Thornflare while he shook his head and chided him, "So this is how you, FireClan's most senior warrior, act when you are defeated. Shameful. Even when my nephew is exiled, he has more honor than you could ever have."

Seeing the surprised look on Bearclaw and the anger in Thornflare's eyes, he mewed, "Well, thank you for the cream. That was very scrumptious."

The two tabbies left the arena together and back to their ship, which was now fully repaired. Before they got back on, Bearclaw asked his uncle, "Uncle Irontail, did you really mean what you said?"

Irontail purred and exclaimed, "Of course I meant it! I've told you I liked Swedish cream!"

Bearclaw couldn't help but purr at his uncle's humorous behavior. He couldn't stop thinking of something else before they boarded onto their ship to get right back onto their path.

**...**

Silverpaw rushed toward the decaying building where Goldpaw was supposedly at. She arrived just in time to see a white sphere surround the golden Avatar Cat and the force of the sphere knocked Ashpaw backwards. The young she-cat had no idea what just happened, but it must have been something terrible to make him do this.

While this went on, most of the building was being torn apart from the awesome power of the sphere, which was beginning to expand. It even sent lots of smoke, debris, and rubble toward the two apprentices, making them look away to avoid getting their eyes damaged. When the wind threw some stuff at them, Silverpaw and Ashpaw dodged the flying pieces.

When she joined up with her brother, Silverpaw asked him above the sound of the mighty wind, "Ashpaw, what's happening?"

"Goldpaw just found out about FireClan! They killed Goldenstripe!" Ashpaw answered her. "I was there when he was mourning."

"Oh, damn it! It's his Avatar Cat spirit and he's already triggered it!" Silverpaw gasped, unable to keep herself from gasping. She was now witnessing the almighty power of the Avatar Cat. To Ashpaw, she called while she struggled to go to Goldpaw, "I've gotta try and calm him down!"

Ashpaw nodded quickly from the rubble he clung to with his claws and called, "Well, hurry up, then! He's gonna blow this mountain up!"

With a nod, Silverpaw began to pad slowly towards the angry Avatar Cat as the white sphere began to grow bigger and bigger. The silver-pelted apprentice found a nearby rock and clung onto it with unsheathed claws. When she was firmly attached to the rock, she yowled loudly yet as calmly as she can for Goldpaw to hear:

"Listen to me, Goldpaw! We both know you're upset over the loss of your mentor and Clan, and I know it's hard for you. I felt the same way after my mother was killed. Your mentor and Clan may be destroyed and gone now, but they're still your family and they live in you! And Ashpaw and I...we're your only family now!"

_They live in you (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_They live in me (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_They're watching over (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_Everything we see (Hela hey Mamela)_

Goldpaw turned his head to glance at her when she finished her speech and he slowly made the sphere begin to shrink away until there was nothing left. As the wind died down, both WaterClan cats, who had left the rock he was clinging to, came to comfort him.

"Hey, Goldpaw, we promise we won't let anything bad harm you," Ashpaw mewed gently as he rested his paw onto the golden cat's shoulder.

Silverpaw didn't say anything else, but she intertwined her tail with his and thought, _He's right, Goldpaw. We won't let anything bad happen to you. _As soon as her tail touched his, the arrow markings on his head, body, and legs began to fade away to plain white.

He fell against Silverpaw's thick warm fur with grief and exhaustion and she laid on the ground to steady him. His own short pelt felt very warm to her as she thought of comforting words for the cat she started to like more than a friend. Goldpaw was slowly becoming a little brother to her.

Goldpaw slowly opened his eyes and mewled tiredly, "I'm so sorry, Silverpaw. I didn't mean to make this happen."

"Don't worry about it, Goldpaw," Silverpaw murmured back, taking a glance at Ashpaw. The dark gray tabby cat was nodding with agreement with her words. "It's not your fault at all."

"But I've been wrong about what you told me," Goldpaw mewled sadly and Silverpaw could see tears come out slightly from his dark gray eyes. "Since FireClan really did find this place, then they'll have gone after the other camps." His voice choked as he began to sob, "I really am the last of my Clan. I am the last AirClan cat."

_In every creature (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_In every star (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_In your reflection_

_They live in you_

Then he began crying on her shoulder and Silverpaw couldn't bear to see him so upset. So she wrapped one of her front legs around him in hopes of comforting him. Ashpaw padded to them and once again placed his paws onto his shoulder to help him feel better.

But Silverpaw thought she had seen the flash of a fire-colored pelt with the scent of stars pad over to them and embrace the three apprentices. She saw pure sympathy in its bright green eyes before it faded away.

**...**

After that scene was finally over, Goldpaw went into the Sanctuary once again to look at the statue of Whitestorm. _Since he can't give me an answer like this, what'll I do now?_ he thought with worry.

He scented Silverpaw's presence behind him as she meowed, "Goldpaw, we've packed up and everything. You all ready to go?"

"Yeah." Goldpaw turned to follow her as he went on, "How will I speak to Whitestorm if I can't speak to him now?"

"I'm sure you'll find a way. I promise," Silverpaw replied, giving him a promising smile.

The two cats went to go forward with Ashpaw tagging along, but they stopped when the red-tailed hawk from earlier had returned with a rabbit in his talons. With a squawk of curiosity, he took the rabbit, flew over to Ashpaw, and dropped it at his front paws. Ashpaw let out a grunt of appreciation as he sunk his fangs into the fresh-kill and began to eat.

As for the hawk himself, he didn't dare steal anything from the WaterClan apprentice. Instead, he busied himself by catching a mantis on the ground and nibbling it slowly.

Both Silverpaw and Goldpaw let out a purr of amusement at this scene and Goldpaw could tell these two could get along together. "It seems you made a new friend," he purred.

But Ashpaw turned to him with hunger in his eyes as he slurred amidst a mouthful of rabbit meat, "Eat now, talk later." Then he continued to chow down on the rabbit.

Goldpaw noticed the hawk fly toward him and it landed on the top of his head. Surprisingly, the hawk felt lighter than expected instead of the weight of a bald eagle. Goldpaw purred and used his paw to gently pet the raptor, who chirped with gladness.

_They live in you (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_They live in me (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_They're watching over (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_Everything we see (Hela Hey Mamela)_

Several minutes later, Goldpaw was standing outside with Archie and the hawk beside him. As he gazed out at the lonely AirClan Temple from far away, he meowed to the hawk, "Look like it's going to us three cats, Archie, and you from now on. We're all that's left of AirClan and it'll never come back."

Noticing Ashpaw, whose mouth was full of the rabbit's leg, and Silverpaw approach them, he told them, "Say hello to our newest pet and companion."

The hawk flew over to Ashpaw, pulled the rabbit meat out of his mouth, and flew back to his new master to devour its catch. While Ashpaw griped about "sneak-thieves", Silverpaw mewed (while purring at the hawk's superb thievery) to Goldpaw, "So you got a name for him?"

"Yep," Goldpaw replied, patting the eating hawk's head. "His name will be Tobias."

**...**

_In every creature (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_In every star (Hela Hey Mamela)_

_In your reflection_

_They live in you_

After the cats and Tobias got onto Archie and flew away, Goldpaw and Tobias gazed toward the Southern AirClan camp one last time. He knew he wouldn't be back for a very long while and he would miss his home very much. The two other cats padded to Goldpaw and sat by either side of him as he looked at the clouds hiding the dark lonely place from sight.

Goldpaw now knew he was on a dark and dangerous path to save the world. But he would have to accept it.

_Ingonyama Nengw Emelabala_

_Ingonyama Nengw Emelabala_

_**(To be continued...)**_

**...**

**AvatarCat11: This is probably the longest chapter so and that means that I've got three episodes down and fifty-eight more to go!**

**Katara: Are you feeling thirsty right now?**

**Holly: I'm getting thirsty myself. How about we go get a drink?**

**AvatarCat11: Sure. I hope that everyone had a good Veteran's Day yesterday!**

**Holly: Yeah!**

**Katara: I agree with Holly. I think I'm going to like this holiday.**

**AvatarCat11: Good. (Turns to the readers) Anyways, review and I'll update really soon! And here's the summary for the next chapter, The Tribe of Heavy Roses:**

**Summary: When Goldpaw and his friends arrive on an island of a Tribe of cats, he is treated like a king and he craves the attention. Meanwhile, Ashpaw has a bone to pick with their island-guards and Bearclaw continues his mission.**

**AvatarCat11, Katara, and Holly: See ya next time!**


	6. The Tribe Of Heavy Roses

**AvatarCat11: There's just one more day left until we go see our dad. But we have to leave the day after we see him.**

**Holly: Why?**

**AvatarCat11: Because he's got to go to work. I don't know where he works, but I understand.**

**Katara: Well, look on the bright side. At least you'll be able to see him again.**

**AvatarCat11: You're right about that. Anyways, we got a new person or two reviewing this new revised story. So come on over, WinxPossible!**

**WinxPossible: (Comes into the room) Oh my gosh! I've been chosen!**

**Katara: (Smiles at her) You sure have. Here's a cookie cake. It's chocolate chip. (Gives the cookie cake to her)**

**WinxPossible: (Accepts it) Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: AvatarCat11 gives all credit of Avatar: The Last AirBender and Warrior cats to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter. That means he doesn't own them.**

**Summary: Goldpaw and his small pack land on an island, home of the Tribe of Heavy Roses, where Goldpaw is treated like a king. Meanwhile, Ashpaw confronts their island-guards and Bearclaw goes on with his search.**

**Updating Date: November 13, 2011**

**Everyone: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Tribe of Heavy Roses_

Bearclaw gazed out of the window in his lodge while he was meditating. He had been sitting at an altar with the posture of a phoenix and he was meditating with four white candles surrounding him; controlling his anger was why he was trying to think. As he meditated, he thought as calmly as he could about finding inner peace.

_Once I learn to curb my anger a little, I could concentrate on what I'm doing._

He scented Irontail coming into his room and he meowed in a perilously smooth tone, "Uncle Irontail, if you have any news about the Avatar Cat, then you can interrupt me."

Irontail gave him a nervous glance, laid down the map he was carrying in his jaws, and meowed, "Well, there is some news, but it's bad news, Bearclaw. I think you might hate it. Now promise me you won't get upset."

"Uncle," Bearclaw murmured very calmly. "You've taught me that controlling my temper is one of the good traits of being a great leader. Now I'll take whatever you have to say and I promise I won't get angry."

"Okay, then," Irontail replied, shuffling his paws. Then the gray tabby tom stammered, "The bad news is...well...we don't know where the Avatar Cat is at."

Whatever Irontail hoped for his nephew to calm down, this wasn't what he expected. Suddenly enraged about the bad news, Bearclaw sat up quickly and roared, "WHAT?"

The four candles around him began to flicker toward the ceiling with the tabby tom's wrath. He stood up and whirled around to face his uncle, who flinched away from the flames that Bearclaw foamed from his jaws. As the dark brown tabby warrior continued to growl, Irontail waved his paw around in the air.

He was meowing, "Maybe it'd be best to open the window; it's getting hot in here. And you did promise not to get upset."

Bearclaw snapped, "Oh, forget it! Give me that map!" and scooped the map toward him. He opened it up with his paws and studied it carefully.

While his nephew studied the map, Irontail continued to fan the air with his paw. He explained, "We've heard from several cats that there were many sightings of the Avatar Cat. But it's getting nearly difficult to track him and his pack down."

"Well, how am I ever going to find him, Uncle?" Bearclaw hissed softly. He looked down at the map marked with circled X's and dotted lines connecting the reported Avatar Cat sightings. The lines were zigzagged all over the landmass drawings.

He looked up at Irontail and mewed, "That cat is a master of quick evasion."

**...**

"You have no idea where we're going, do you?" Ashpaw grumbled. He was looking at a map marked with circled X's and dotted lines showing their pit stops. The dark gray tabby tom had a look of cross vexation on his face.

Goldpaw turned to face him indignantly. "Of course I do! I know there's water there."

Both toms looked over at Archie's side and, of course, there was nothing BUT water everywhere they turned. Ashpaw faced Goldpaw and muttered flatly, "Well, we're getting closer to there, I presume?"

Goldpaw purred, then he turned to see Silverpaw doing some kind of work on a blue blanket; it seemed she was sewing up a large hole in it. But he wanted to impress the she-cat since she was his friend and she was friendly towards him. He liked to amaze his friends, even though he could be mildly naive and do something that could irritate another cat.

So he mewed to Tobias, who was watching her also, "Tobias, get the moss-balls, please."

Tobias cawed and dutifully began digging into Goldpaw's bag in search of the moss-balls. The red-tailed hawk had been with them for a few sunrises and Goldpaw had already trained him to do certain tasks. He managed to get only one moss-ball, but that was good enough as he dropped the ball at Goldpaw's feet and settled back down on Archie's saddle.

"Thanks, Tobias," Goldpaw mewed to the bird-of-prey before beginning to use the air to twirl the ball around in mid-air. He smiled very widely and called to Silverpaw, "Hey, Silverpaw! Look at this AirBending trick!"

"That's great, Goldpaw," the silver she-cat meowed quietly. However, she didn't pay attention to him and she sounded a little absentminded when she said that.

Goldpaw was crushed because he was not used to being ignored by her. "But, Silverpaw, you didn't even notice it yet!"

_Why won't she notice that trick? _he thought sadly._ I've done it a few times already!_

Silverpaw stopped on what she was doing as she meowed, "That looks cool, Goldpaw!"

"But I'm not doing it now. You didn't see me doing it yet!" Goldpaw whined once again before being cut off by Ashpaw.

"Oh, stop badgering her, mouse-brain," Ashpaw told him, waving his paw flippantly in the air. "What you need is to give she-cats some room to do their sewing."

His sister stopped sewing and turned to him with a mixture of anger and annoyance on her face. "What does me being a she-cat have anything to do with sewing?" she growled at him. "Do you think I'm a defenseless bitch?"

Ashpaw waved his paw again and retorted, "I'm not saying that; I'm just speaking the truth. She-cats are better at sewing and building nests while toms are better at hunting, fighting and other stuff like that. It's just natural."

**(Author's Note: Doesn't it bother you when someone acts too sexist?)**

Goldpaw guessed what Ashpaw said was sexist because Silverpaw began growling; he thought she would jump at him and beat him. But surprisingly, she pulled some sort of inflated happiness on her face.

"All done with your blanket, Ashpaw!" the silver apprentice declared, tossing the blanket at her brother. "And look how good it looks!"

"Silverpaw, hold on! I was just kidding! She-cats can do that stuff, too!" Ashpaw whined, giving her a sad look through the hole of the blanket. When she ignored him, he wailed, "Silverpaw, PLEASE help me with this damn thing!"

Goldpaw purred at the two bickering apprentices and mewed, "Don't worry, Ashpaw. Where we'll be stopping at, you won't need a blanket!" He gave a jerk at the bridles of Archie's collar and the large dragon let out a rumble as he lifted higher into the sky.

**...**

Several hours later, all three cats, Archie, and Tobias landed on a small crescent-moon shaped island where a large bay rested in front of where they landed. And there were enormous snow-covered mountains right behind them.

Ashpaw meowed to Goldpaw, "Hey, we made a stop yesterday so you could take a piss. We should get back on Archie and fly somewhere else to camp."

"He's right, Goldpaw," Silverpaw agreed while gazing around the sun-drown-place. "If we keep lollygagging about, we won't reach the Northern WaterClan until newleaf starts."

_Come on, you guys! I'm just going to show you one trick! _Goldpaw retorted silently.

He gazed out over the lagoon and saw a shadow, so he took that chance to meow, "But Archie's tired from flying. Aren't you tired, Archie?" When the white dragon didn't respond, Goldpaw nudged him with his paw and pressed on with a little urgency, "I _said_, aren't you _tired_, Archie?"

The big male creature yawned, but it was apparent he wasn't all that tired. Goldpaw pointed at him with his tail to convince the two other cats. But by the looks on their faces, they weren't easily convinced.

Ashpaw mewed cynically, "Oh, yeah, that's _really _convincing, all right. But it's still hard to mess with a nine ton dragon," he added with a nervous glance in his blue eyes.

Then Goldpaw saw it: a large orca leaping out of the water, its black-&-white hide glittering with water in the sunlight. There were several more orcas breaching from the bay and flipping onto their backs to make huge splashes.

"Look! Orca! That's why we're here!" He instantly began stretching and licking his entire body for a warm-up. While he licked his chest fur, he mewed to Silverpaw, "Come and watch me, Silverpaw!" At that, he leaped into the water.

The bay water felt like a thousand bee-stings just drove themselves into his pelt. Goldpaw didn't know the water was going to be that cold! He yelped loudly about the coldness, so he used his AirBending to help him run on the water. He didn't notice Ashpaw look at Silverpaw and twirl his paw around his head as if he was saying that the young cat was losing his mind.

Goldpaw continued to paddle out into the lagoon like a lost dog and he dove underwater to see the orca. Even though it wasn't in his blood, Goldpaw really liked to swim; it felt good feeling the water soak his fur. He found the biggest one there and grabbed it on the dorsal fin with his teeth, but he didn't want the killer whale to bleed. The massive dolphin leaped out of the water for air and Goldpaw still clung onto its dorsal fin. Then it crashed back into the water as heavily as a rock.

Goldpaw turned back to the shore to see Silverpaw and she had an excited and interested look on her face, clearly enjoying his current antics. As the others watched him from the shore, Goldpaw grabbed onto the fin with his paws to laugh and wave to his friends. Silverpaw laughed too and cheered him on. While Goldpaw laughed some more, three more orca began following their leader in the breaching.

Back at the shore, while Tobias jumped up and down, Silverpaw mewed to Ashpaw, "He looks awesome out there!"

"You shitting me?" Ashpaw retorted, not looking convinced. "That orca is doing all the work."

Silverpaw turned around to give her brother a tongue-lashing until she saw Archie pushing down a tree and he started to gnaw on it. "No! Bad Archie! You don't eat someone's tree!" Silverpaw scolded the large animal as she ran off after him.

Goldpaw, while grinning widely, hoped Silverpaw was watching, but all he saw was the silver WaterClan she-cat running off into the trees. He felt disappointment like a fire burn in his heart. _Great, now she's not looking at my new trick! _the golden cat thought to himself.

"Aw, shit," he mumbled.

But while Goldpaw continued to ride the orca, the other two killer whales suddenly dove back underwater and swam away, their tall black fins visible over the surface. One had tried to swim away, but it was suddenly pulled underwater and not on its own will. And Goldpaw failed to see the blood in the water.

Back at the shore, Ashpaw seemed to figure out why they swam away like that. "Oh no, there's something in the bay!" For something huge was following Goldpaw and the smaller whale very swiftly.

Tobias, meanwhile at the shore, was flying in circles and cawing in distress while Silverpaw arrived with Archie behind her. "Ashpaw, what's going on?"

"There's something in the water and it might get Goldpaw!" Ashpaw yelped. Towards Goldpaw, he yowled, "Goldpaw, behind you!"

"Goldpaw, get out of the water! Hurry!" Silverpaw screeched. They were now screeching for him to come back while Tobias was cawing even more loudly than before.

But Goldpaw didn't know that he was in danger; he just thought they were still cheering him on. So he gave a wave back, ignoring their warning calls. It felt great to ride on an orca...until the orca suddenly bucked him off of its back as it dove below the water.

Goldpaw had been thrown headlong into the water and he resurfaced with a mighty breath of air. It felt like he was drinking everlasting water from a freshwater lake; the saltwater was making him cough and nearly hack a furball. But while he gasped for air, he suddenly noticed a large and long head appear from the water and it was glaring at him with angry eyes.

Goldpaw gave a yowl of horror as he quickly used his tail to go to shore while the giant creature followed slowly. He finally reached land and crashed headfirst into Ashpaw, who gave a grunt of surprise. While the two tomcats knocked each other off their paws and crash backwards into a nearby pine tree, the monster seemed to give up the chase, for it gave a roar of rage as it inched slowly back into the bay.

Silverpaw dashed forward to see if her fellow apprentices were okay; she could see Goldpaw shaking his short pelt dry while Ashpaw sat slumped up against the tree they ran into. "What in the name of StarClan was that thing?" she mewled with fright.

"I don't know, but I guess I should've left the orca alone," Goldpaw replied, shaking his hind paw dry.

The dark gray tabby sat up, shook himself also, and announced, "Well, we can't stick around here and find out; we might be in another cat's territory. It's time to leave this place in the dust!"

But before he uttered the last word, a flash of bright fur caught him off guard and dragged him away by the scruff. Another flash of fur clamped their paws onto Silverpaw's blue eyes, so she couldn't see, and yanked her away. A third one simply grabbed Goldpaw by the scruff and began hauling him off. And a final one snatched Tobias from the air and threw him to the ground.

As all three cats and the hawk fell to the ground, blindfolded and tied up, Ashpaw muttered, "Or...we can stay for a little bit."

**...**

_I can't believe I got my friends into this, _Goldpaw thought bitterly.

He and his friends had been tied by their front paws and dangling from a totem pole. Tobias had been caught in a cage and shoved in there, despite his loud cries.

Surrounding them were probably many cats and at their lead were probably a tom and a she-cat. The tomcat, who was probably eight years old, hissed, "You three start explaining yourselves right away."

"If you don't answer every single one of Teller of the Fallen Rose's questions, we'll throw your sorry asses into the bay for the Liopleurodon. And my Healer's name is long for Roseteller," the she-cat added threateningly.

"Oh, yeah? Well, show us who you are!" Ashpaw snapped loudly, even though Goldpaw and Silverpaw hissed at him to be quiet.

Goldpaw could feel his blindfold being taken off of his eyes and all three apprentices saw who they were. Five she-cats were standing a tail-length below and right in front of them. In the lead was a red tabby she-cat with blue-green eyes and distinctive white markings on her face, body, and paws.

Padding toward the group was a creamy brown tom with a torn ear; he must be the "Roseteller" this she-cat was talking about. And there was a large crowd of cats who he had heard from Goldenstripe must be the Tribe of Heavy Roses, named after an Avatar Cat named Heavyrose.

Ashpaw snarled while struggling to bite the ropes to free himself as he snarled, "Where are the males who attacked us? Who are you?"

The red tabby retorted while stepping forward and unsheathing her claws, "There aren't any male island-guards; they're used for being prey-hunters instead. _We_ were the ones who _ambushed_ you. Now tell us who you are and what you're doing in our territory."

Rather than speak, Ashpaw laughed out loud and sneered, "Come on, you bitch. There's no way a tomcat gets beaten by a pack of she-cats!"

This was really the wrong thing to say, for the she-cat brought her claws close to the dark gray tom's face and she snarled, "Being sexist, you sexist fucker? The Liopleurodon will enjoy extra caught-prey today."

"Please don't hurt him!" Silverpaw squeaked quickly. When the she-cat glared at her, she quickly added, "My brother didn't really mean it, but he can be mouse-brained sometimes."

"No. It's my fault," Goldpaw confessed, his ears drooping down, yet he wanted the Tribe to see his mistake and wanted to ask for pardon. "I shouldn't have landed Archie here. I just wanted to ride on the orcas."

But Roseteller, who was flanked by four island-guards, flicked his tail severely at him and spat, "Are you sure you're not FireClan warriors? Heavyrose stayed out of the War for many moons, and we want to do the same! Don't think about dragging us into it! The Tribe of Endless Hunting forbid it!"

A certain name rung into Goldpaw's head. He finally knew why they were desperate to defend their island. With surprise and interest, he asked Roseteller, "You know about Heavyrose? This island is named after her? I know her!"

However, the creamy tom scoffed, "How could you possibly know Heavyrose? She was born on this island fifty years ago! She's been dead for moons!"

All three cats glanced up to see what was above them. At the top of the totem pole was the statue of a tortoiseshell-&-white she-cat with amber eyes. The statue of Heavyrose, which was standing on its haunches with one paw raised up in the air, seemed to have gray streaks on it. Goldpaw wondered if it was usual to have splashes of other colors on a Tribe cat's pelt or if she really did have gray streaks. And the she-cat seemed to have a set of two fans: one under her large paws and one in her mouth.

Goldpaw looked back down toward Roseteller before saying loudly enough for everyone to hear, "I really did know her. I'm the Avatar Cat. She was me two lives ago."

While the Healer's face looked shocked, the red tabby backed away from Ashpaw, got over to Goldpaw, and spat, "Liar! Didn't you know? The Avatar Cat died fourteen years ago!"

"That's me, all right!" Goldpaw gave her a grin that wasn't too convincing.

"Enough of these silly games." Roseteller was calmly coming out of shock as the red tabby backed away. To her, he ordered, "Echo of Quiet Storm, I give you and your fellow island-guards permission to toss these frauds to the Liopleurodon!"

All five she-cats nodded to their Healer, unsheathed their claws, and started to stalk hostilely toward the defenseless trio. Goldpaw heard Silverpaw whisper tersely in his ear. "Goldpaw...it's time to do some AirBending..."

As the Tribe she-cats stalked nearer to them, Goldpaw blew onto the ropes so hard they froze in the chilly air and he wrenched his paw downwards, causing the rope to shatter. Then, recalling his training with Goldenstripe, he proceeded to make a large ball of air form out of his mouth and shot it to the ground without harming any cats.

The force of the air made Goldpaw get blown so hard up his ropes snapped in two, and he floated away from the pole to land in front of the Tribe. He tipped it off by dipping his head in respect to the Tribe of Heavy Roses. Many gasps and _mrrows _of wonder echoed from the crowd.

"So I was wrong!" That was Roseteller, whose eyes widened with awe and shame mixed. "You _are _the Avatar cat!" And Echo and her fellow she-cats simply nodded to the young Avatar Cat, their eyes shining with new respect.

Goldpaw nodded seriously and flicked his tail toward Silverpaw and Ashpaw. Several cats went behind him to untie them and take them down from the pole. Then he found a nearby moss-ball and, forgetting his mature attitude, meowed to the crowd, "If that doesn't impress you, watch _this!_"

He sat on his haunches, twirled the ball around in mid-air between his front paws, and grinned like a fool. He had used this earlier to try and impress Silverpaw.

All the cats began yowling with excitement and they started leaping into the air with joy. One cat, a pale tabby, jumped to the front, shrieked like a kit, and got so happy and foamed so much in the mouth that he passed out from too much flutter. From that time on, Goldpaw decided to call him the Foaming Mouth Cat.

**...**

"What? The Avatar Cat's on Heavyrose Island?" Bearclaw snapped up from his meal of cooked pelican.

He heard the story about how a little kit told a fishing cat about how the Avatar Cat had arrived, then the fisher gave the news to the merchant, then the merchant told his customer (a FireClan cat), and this same cat came to their ship and told Bearclaw and Irontail the news. It seemed the news came straight from Heavyrose Island itself.

He stood up angrily and spoke to Irontail while he stalked away, "Prepare the Komodo Dragons. The Avatar Cat won't escape me this time!"

Irontail wasn't listening because he pointed to the cooked pelican. "Are you going to eat that?"

The dark brown tabby warrior snatched the dish off of the table and stalked away, muttering through his mouthful of plate, "I'll save it for later. Get your own fresh-kill."

All Irontail could do was curl his tail around his paws and pout as he watched his nephew stalk away with the pelican he wanted to eat. But there was nothing he could do about that.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldpaw and his friends woke up the next morning to see the statue of Heavyrose being polished and painted. One painting cat was painting a fresh coat of color on her face while the other was scrubbing dirt off of her paws. Goldpaw knew that whenever the cats of this world want to look flashy or dull, they paint a new color on themselves or gather what the Twolegs wore on their mostly furless skin: clothes.

Despite the sun just starting to rise over the mountains, there were quite a few cats already around the village: either kits play-fighting or prey-hunters snatching the occasional bird from the air. And several of these cats were laying out a tray of assorted fish and chicken eggs for Archie to eat. The white Asian Lung dragon let out a roar of appreciation; Goldpaw guessed that Archie enjoyed the attention as much as he did.

And what was more was that these cats were brave enough to stick near Archie whenever he roared; it was probably due to living alongside the Liopleurodon.

The three cats were led up to a balcony that opened up for the morning sun to shine on them. And in front of them was a whole table with lots of platters of food. Goldpaw realized that these were all pastries, so he leaped high into the air, did a little twist, and landed, cheering away.

"We get dessert for breakfast! These Tribe cats know how to treat an Avatar Cat!" he added, taking a large bite out of a piece of bread filled with blueberries and vole meat.

While the apprentices ate their breakfast silently, they watched the Tribe cats decorating the Heavyrose statue with flowers and leaves. Then Goldpaw, whose muzzle became blue from the blueberries, nudged a small slice of cake stuffed with halibut toward Silverpaw.

He urged her, "Silverpaw, this is delicious! Come on, try some!"

"I guess I'll try," she told him as she took a bite from the cake. While Goldpaw wasn't watching, Tobias, who was released from his cage, snuck up behind his owner and embezzled a piece of a mouse-tart that he was saving.

But Goldpaw noticed there was one particular cat who wasn't eating. Ashpaw was sitting in the corner, glaring out to somewhere in the village, but he wasn't coming anywhere near the table. "Ashpaw, what's the matter with you? Eat something!" Goldpaw coaxed him.

Ashpaw glared at him and muttered, "I'm not hungry."

"That's weird! Whenever you see food, you chow down like a hog, but now you don't. What's wrong?" Goldpaw mewed to him over Silverpaw's head, feeling concerned.

Silverpaw laid her tail onto his shoulder and reassured him teasingly, "Don't worry, Goldpaw. He's just pissed because he got his ass kicked by a pack of she-cats."

"They ambushed us!" her brother snapped at her, his pale blue eyes looking a little haunted from yesterday's events.

"Right...and _then_ they kicked your ass," Silverpaw teased him with a smug smirk on her face.

Ashpaw got up angrily, snarling, "Ambushes don't count!" He started pacing around the room in a rage, muttering threats like, "Tie me to a pole and call me a sexist, eh?" "I'll pay them back," or "I'm not scared of any queens."

He stalked over to the table to grab a few sweets and he growled, "Who do those Tribe bitches think they are?" He gulped down a slice of hummingbird pie and he muttered, "Yeah, this is delicious. You were right, Goldpaw," before he left the balcony.

Goldpaw and Silverpaw watched the other WaterClan apprentice leave before Goldpaw asked Silverpaw, "What's gotten under his fur lately? This place is really awesome! They're treating us like royalty. And they're giving us the royal treatment!"

She responded with a hint of worry, "Hey, don't get way too comfy on this island. It's not safe for us to stay in one spot for quite a while."

"We'll be fine," Goldpaw replied, waving his tail at her. "Didn't you see how happy I'm keeping this town and their cats?" He glanced out of the window to see the two painter cats continuing working on the statue of Avatar Cat Heavyrose. "They're even cleaning that statue in my honor!"

"Goldpaw, I'm glad to see you getting excited about being the Avatar Cat," Silverpaw meowed to him. "But promise me that you won't get this kind of stuff get up to your head."

Goldpaw purred, but deep inside, he really cared about how Silverpaw was feeling about his safety and well-being. "You know me better than that, Silverpaw, but I promise that I won't let it get to my head. Besides, I'm just a humble traveler," he added, getting to her better side.

But that "humble traveler" didn't seem to cut out for him; as soon as he leapt upwards to sit on the windowsill, yowling sounds reached his ears. He looked down to see lots of Tribe she-cats around one moon younger than him, screeching his name and calling to him. Goldpaw, falling into the spell of "going-over-the-head-ness", smiled big at them and blushed.

Silverpaw, who was not impressed with his attitude, blew a raspberry at him and the she-cats.

**...**

Several minutes later, after fires were built and breakfast was eaten, Goldpaw was running about the orange bridge over the stream with a crowd of she-kits chasing him around. Suddenly, the she-kits had decided to come at him from both sides and he gave one leap upwards, making the two groups came together and waited for him to come back down.

The reason why he took long was because he had AirBended himself to stay in the air and briefly avoid the she-kits. But the air ran out and he fell into the paws of the kits.

After that incident, Goldpaw was getting his portrait painted by a gray tom. He was allowed to get a portrait of only him and the kit, and the artist was muttering to himself, "Okay...painting the Avatar Cat. This should be easy."

When he looked up from his parchment, he saw there was an extra kit in the scene. He muttered, "Oh, look here...another one. I'll just make an arrangement."

And when he looked up once more, four kits joined Goldpaw. "What the...?" He suddenly saw many kits joining Goldpaw at the painting. He looked exasperated and ticked off when he saw all the kits squirming around the Avatar Cat and squealing with happiness. He looked panicked and he picked up his stool and ran off, cursing to himself.

Later on, Goldpaw was now doing pull-ups on a bar in the middle of a clearing while Tobias clung onto his back. He was pulling up with two paws at first, then he did it with one paw, then he pulled up with AirBending. While the kits screeched with glee, Goldpaw didn't look at Silverpaw passing by; there was a basket dangling in her jaws and her eyes were rolling with irritation.

**...**

_Those she-cats wanna play rough, huh?_ Ashpaw muttered to himself angrily as he approached their training dojo, which was a green building with many plants inside. _I'll show them rough! _he ranted on silently.

Steeling his nerves, he looked inside. Several she-cats were training in mock combat and Echo was watching their progress while handing out advice.

Ashpaw swaggered into the building and arrogantly disturbed them, "Excuse me, ladies. I didn't want to stop your ballet dance routine." He began stretching his forelegs and flexed his shoulders as he went on, "I was hoping I'd find somewhere to train."

"Well, you came to the right place at the right time," Echo mewed as Ashpaw stretched his back legs.

Ashpaw continued to stretch in front of the she-cats while Echo meowed sincerely, "I'm sorry for yesterday and calling you a fucker. I didn't know the Avatar Cat was traveling with you, that's all."

"It's quite all right," Ashpaw grunted flippantly as he rotated his shoulders. "I'd hold a grudge against any other cat, but I'll make an exception for you this time, since you're all she-cats."

"I hope so," the reddish tabby she-cat meowed mockingly, her blue-green eyes glittering. "A big tall strong warrior like you? I think we may not last long."

The dark gray apprentice replied, "That's right. Don't feel too bad for too long, though. I'm the best fighter in my Clan!"

Echo padded closer and purred, "Really? Best fighter in your entire Clan, eh? Wanna show us a fighting move or two?"

Ashpaw couldn't answer; he was going to show fighting moves to a pack of she-cats? _But I think I CAN do this, _he muttered to himself.

But he was feeling his stomach fill with butterflies and, for some odd reason, moths. When he still didn't speak, Echo turned back to her fellow island-guards and encouraged them.

"What do you say, island-guards? How about he shows us some Clan fighting moves?"

The she-cats turned to one another and started to purr as they nodded with approval at Echo's suggestion. So Ashpaw started padding forward at Echo, knowing that he would kick her tail from here to the bay.

"If this is what you guys want, then I'll be happy to help out. You stand over there," he added, trying to shove Echo to a stump, but Echo didn't move. Her cool and calm pose was unaffected by his arrogance. But Ashpaw didn't notice or care, so he went on, "It'll be tough, so try to block it. Don't get pissed if you fail."

Ashpaw took a swipe at her with his claws sheathed, but Echo grabbed his paw with her teeth and tossed him to the ground. Her stance seemed really relaxed and unfettered while he was too quick in proving himself against the island guards.

Ashpaw licked his shoulder and told the reddish she-cat, "That was pretty good! But I was going easy on you."

"I hear you," Echo mewed.

"All right, block _this!_" Ashpaw then pounced onto the she-cat's back, but she easily threw him off. When he stood up, she quickly swiped her paw at his legs, causing him to fall down and land onto his butt.

"Oh, that's it! You'll pay for that!" he snarled angrily, lunging at her again. Echo grabbed him by the scruff, spun him into a circle, used a rope to tie his front paws to his tail, and tossed him to the ground.

Echo purred as she mockingly teased him, "So, strongest fighter in WaterClan, got anything else to teach us?" Ashpaw's only reply to their teasing was a whimper of humiliation.

**...**

Out in the Tribe square, Goldpaw and the pack of she-kits were crowded around the statue of Avatar Cat Heavyrose. Goldpaw relished the thought about Heavyrose being treated like a queen at this place. It made him feel important and never ignored.

"There she is, kits: me two lives ago," he told them as they gasped in awe at this sight.

As they gasped, one of the kits, a tabby kit named Fish That Leaps Over Puddle, mewled, "You looked pretty back then!"

Goldpaw turned around to reply when he saw Silverpaw padding past them with a basket in her jaws. She seemed to be heading over to the market for shopping. So he told them, "Hold on for a moment, girls," and he raced off towards his silver-pelted friend.

When he got there, she was putting a few pieces of food in the basket. He immediately laid his tail on her shoulder and she turned to see him padding to her.

"Goldpaw! Thank StarClan you came!" she sighed with relief. Pushing the basket towards him, she asked him, "Can you help me carry this back to our room? It's getting heavy."

"Actually, I can't right now," Goldpaw replied. He just wanted to tell her he was having fun with the kits. He hoped Silverpaw could understand.

But the silver apprentice's blue eyes narrowed as she asked him, "What do you mean you can't? What's more important?"

Goldpaw shuffled his paws and mewed, "I promised the kits I'd let them ride on Archie. Can you come with us, Silverpaw? It'll be fun!"

"Goldpaw, watching you swagger like a peacock isn't fun to watch," Silverpaw retorted, picking up a few more pieces of food and putting them in the basket.

"Neither is carrying your basket," Goldpaw retorted, feeling hurt at his friend's cool attitude at him.

Silverpaw shook her head and replied, "It's not mine. This is just for our journey. I just told you this morning: we can't stay on Heavy-Rose Island for too long." She continued to scoop some more food into the basket along with other items.

But Goldpaw didn't want to leave just now; he was already treated like a king and he wanted to stay for a little longer. So he whined, "But I don't wanna leave yet, Silverpaw. I can't really put my whiskers on it, but I've got a really good feeling about this place. That's what I like."

Both of the apprentices heard squeaking from behind them and they turned to see the she-kits who followed Goldpaw all day mewing to one another. One of them, who is the same little tabby kit named Fish, squeaked in frustration while lashing her tail, "Come on, Goldy! What's taking you so long?"

"Did she just call you 'Goldy'? When the hell did that become your name...?" Silverpaw asked the golden cat in a flat tone. But Goldpaw didn't listen, for he whipped around to yowl to the kit, "I'll be there soon, Fish!" before turning back to the WaterClan cat.

That's when Silverpaw mewed coolly to him, "'Humble traveler', huh? You broke your promise that you wouldn't let it go to your head."

"I did not!" Goldpaw protested. _How dare she accuse me of breaking promises? _"I know why you're talking like this: you're just jealous! That's why you won't come!"

"Of what?"

"You're jealous we're having more fun without you." Goldpaw was feeling frustrated. Silverpaw didn't see how much good he was doing in the town of the Tribe.

Silverpaw picked up her basket and scoffed through a mouthful of basket, "I'm not jealous. Don't be stupid."

Goldpaw retorted, "It may seem stupid to you, but I know better."

Silverpaw glared angrily at Goldpaw, and Goldpaw was slightly afraid she would pounce at him and attack. But instead, she snorted, picked the basket up, and padded away from him, but not before giving him one more glare.

Goldpaw couldn't help but feel disappointed about her behavior. But he couldn't worry while he was dragged away by the gaggle of kits.

**...**

Ashpaw swiped at a branch on the ground on his way to the dojo, feeling ashamed. He didn't mean to be rude to those she-cats; he just want to prove he was a good fighter. But he had gone overboard and tried to challenge the she-cats on his own, but he was beaten fair and square. So he decided to go back to apologize.

When Ashpaw approached the dojo entrance, he saw that Echo was right: he was being sexist to her. He carefully opened the doors to see Echo and her fellow Tribe cats training in mock battle. But they stopped when they saw him move warily into the room.

Ashpaw mewed timidly, "Uh...hey, Echo."

Echo had mockery in her eyes as she taunted him, "Well, well, well. If it isn't the best mess-up in the Clan. You ready for another dance lesson?"

"No. It's just..." Ashpaw mumbled. He shuffled his paws before going on, "Just let me explain."

"Well, hurry up! Spit it out already!" Echo huffed. "What do you want this time?"

Just like he planned, Ashpaw lowered himself to the ground until he laid in front of her, his belly fur brushing against the dojo floor. "It would be a great honor if you train me as your to-be."

Echo gazed down at him with surprise as she meowed, "Even if I'm a she-cat?"

"I'm sorry about that, too," Ashpaw mewed as he looked up into her blue-green eyes. "You were right: I was being sexist to you. I was entirely wrong about you."

"Well," the reddish tabby cat mewed slowly, "we usually don't teach any non-Tribe cats, mainly toms."

Ashpaw lowered his head again as he pleaded, "Please make an exception. I promise I won't let you down, my mentor."

Echo gazed at her friends before they gave her a nod of approval; they seemed to accept the dark gray tabby tom's words of humility. She seemed to approve also because she turned to Ashpaw, her eyes filled with pride and sympathy. Ashpaw was relieved to see that kind look in the red tabby she-cat's eyes.

She nodded to him and answered him, "Okay, I'll take you on as my own to-be. But to train with us, you have to follow our customs." Slyly, she added, "And when I mean all of them, I mean _all_ of them."

Ashpaw nodded eagerly. But a few minutes later found him in some kind of uncomfortable green pelt. His pelt was painted with white paint on his face, paws, and body; there was even some white paint on his tail.

"Do I _have_ to wear this?" Ashpaw protested to Echo. "I feel like a she-cat."

"You silly beetle-brain, it's an honorable uniform of the Tribe of Heavy Roses cats," she purred half-seriously and half-amusingly. Then she explained in a serious tone, "The silk threads signify the brave blood that flows through our veins. The gold crest represents the honor of the warrior's heart. Be proud of this uniform, Ashpaw."

Ashpaw felt a little better because of that, for he sat up straight and sighed happily. "Ah, bravery and honor. I _am_ proud of this uniform."

"Hey, Ashpaw! Nice dress!"

Goldpaw's impish purr made him whirl around to see the golden Avatar Cat race off toward town with a water vole in his jaws. But his comment made his ears droop. His brief pride was crushed by Goldpaw's jibe while Echo smiled at him in an amused sort-of way.

**...**

Goldpaw padded into the sleeping room where Silverpaw was working on her WaterBending. As he padded closer, he saw the water rise out of a bowl in front of her and fall slowly back in. The young golden tom stopped at the doorway and grinned in a cocky way at Silverpaw.

"Hey, Silverpaw. You remember when the Liopleurodon almost ate me yesterday?" he mewed to her.

Without looking up at him and still practicing, Silverpaw nodded. "Yes."

Goldpaw was determined to grab her attention right there, so he went on, "Well, I'm gonna go to the bay and ride on it. It'll be dangerous."

"Good for you," Silverpaw mewed, still not looking up.

"Hold on. You're not going to stop me?" the golden tom mewed at her, feeling astonished about what she said. Didn't she know he was being serious?

The silver cat shook her head. "Enjoy yourself."

Goldpaw lashed his tail peevishly. She would have to see what he was really talking about! "I will have fun, whether you like it or not."

"Great."

"I know it's great."

"I'm glad you know."

"I'm glad you're glad."

"Good!"

"Great!"

Frustrated by her aloof attitude towards him, he stalked angrily away from her and onwards to the bay. Before he did, he glanced over his shoulder to see if Silverpaw was following him, but she still wasn't looking up from her WaterBending.

Goldpaw sighed with gloom as he padded away from her and out of the room. But what he didn't see was that Silverpaw had looked up from her work and glanced out of the doorway.

**...**

Meanwhile, back at the dojo, Ashpaw and Echo were circling one another. Ashpaw was really resolute to help the she-cats out at anything, so he wanted to train with them. The two cats were holding golden fans in their jaws while they circled each other.

"Hold on, Ashpaw," Echo instructed him. "A bit of advice for you: you can't be a master at this in one day. Even I haven't got to be good like that."

_I know that! _The retort burned in Ashpaw's mind, but he bit it back; if he let one thing slip, his training with the island-guards would be over faster than he could say "mouse." So instead of arguing, he decided to do as he was asked to do and train hard.

He stood up on his hind legs, dropped his fan into his paw, and tried to steady himself, meowing, "I think I got this down!" He stepped forward so he could practice the moves on his hind legs, but at the end of the set, he accidentally hurled his fan out the door and into a tree. Echo looked out the door at the lost fan as snow fell from the branches above to bury it.

She turned to walk to Ashpaw and mewed half-seriously, "It's good, but it's not about strength. In our Tribe, we use our foes' force against them. So relax and think of your fan as an extension of your front paw." As she helped him steady his balance, Ashpaw helped her, resolute on getting every single battle move right. "Just wait for an opening and..."

But she didn't finish because Ashpaw suddenly tackled her and pinned her to the ground. Echo gazed up at him with embarrassment and surprise at the sudden ambush.

Ashpaw got off of her, held his tail up, and mewed, "So there! I got you good! Come on! Admit it!" He laughed about his easy victory.

"I fell on purpose to make you feel better for yourself, smartass," Echo hissed in a flustered tone as she got to her paws.

Then, with one swift movement, she stepped on his tail painfully. "All right. I'll call it a lucky move," she laughed. "Let's try it again."

She got off of the tabby tom's tail and the two cats began circling each other again. They ruffled their fur to assume themselves into their battle stances.

**...**

Silverpaw glanced at the mouse snuffling at the roots of the tree before looking towards the bay. She didn't mean to be aloof with Goldpaw; she just couldn't stand to be around him when he was being all snooty and spoiled while they were on the island, but she wanted to apologize to him. If anything bad happened to him, she would blame herself for not looking out for him.

Silverpaw pounced onto the mouse, killed it with a bite to the neck, and wolfed it down before dashing off to the bay. When she got to the bay, she saw the usual crowd of she-kits standing at the shore of the sun-drown-place. Splashing sounds told her Goldpaw was swimming in the end of the shallow area where it started to get deep.

"What's taking you so long?" Silverpaw heard Fish's impatient squeak.

"It'll be here any minute now! I promise!" Goldpaw was yowling to them. He ducked under the water and resurfaced with two moss balls in his jaws. "Hey, how about this?" he mewed with his mouth full of moss. He lifted his paws out of the water and levitated the balls between his paws in mid-air.

But one of the kits yawned, "Oh, come on. Not that boring trick again," while Fish also yawned, "Where's the Liopleurodon? It's already sunset."

It seemed to Silverpaw that the kits were getting bored of him; part of her felt pleased at this, yet another part of her felt bad for the golden cat when she saw isolation on his face. If she had paid more attention to him while on their way here, he wouldn't have been acting like a rooster with a peacock's tail feathers.

The kits got up and woke up those who fell asleep from boredom. Due to it being sunset, they were getting to leave.

Goldpaw slapped his tail on the water as he yowled to them, "Hey, kits, where're you going? Don't leave! It'll come any minute!"

"Sorry, Goldpaw!" Fish called back, running after her friends back to village. "Maybe another time!" As soon as she said that, she and the other kits ran off to the Tribe camp away from the water.

As soon as they left, Silverpaw padded towards the shore, giving the kits a cool look. She turned her attention to Goldpaw, who had looked really disappointed as he gazed into the water. But as soon as she got near the water, he looked up quickly.

"Silverpaw, you came!" he mewed happily, his dark gray eyes wide with relief.

Silverpaw glanced down at her paws. "I wanted to see if you were safe. You had me worried for you," she admitted.

Goldpaw looked at her with confusion. "But in our room, you acted as if you didn't care at all." She could see sadness creeping into his eyes; Silverpaw felt ashamed for how she acted toward the Avatar Cat.

"I'm sorry for how I acted to you," she replied, shame washing over her heart.

"No. I'm the one who's sorry," Goldpaw told her. He swam in a little circle before he went on, "You were right, Silverpaw. I _did_ let all the attention get to my head. I _did_ break my promise to you. I acted like a real jerkass."

Silverpaw purred at that comment and she reassured him, "Sometimes, everyone could act like jerkasses, not just you. I can sometime be one to Ashpaw and he'd be the same to me." Then she called playfully, "Now get your tail outta there, you jerkass!"

The golden Avatar Cat purred at her playful attitude and he nodded. He called to her, "All right, I'm on my way!"

Silverpaw was happy that Goldpaw had changed his way, and he himself looked happy as he paddled over towards her. But when Goldpaw had just started to swim from his spot to the shore, her relief turned to horror.

The Liopleurodon seen earlier had suddenly surfaced from underneath him and caught him in its wake. As the prehistoric sea monster rose from the water, Silverpaw watched with horror as the monster bared its teeth, threw him into the air, tilted its head, and opened its mouth as it readied itself to swallow its prey whole.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

As Silverpaw watched in horror, the Liopleurodon raised its head to throw Goldpaw into the air and it opened its mouth to swallow him. But Goldpaw got back into control in time and leaped out of the way onto the creature's head. The Liopleurodon had some barbels on the side of its head, so the golden Avatar Cat jumped to them and grabbed onto them with his jaws. Silverpaw watched the prehistoric sea monster jump out of the water to dislodge Goldpaw from its barbels, but he wasn't letting go in fear of being eaten.

Goldpaw had swung himself and the barbel to the front of the Liopleurodon, who licked its lips hungrily as it glared at him. He let out another yowl of fear, making Silverpaw's blood run cold. _I won't let that monster eat my friend!_

"Hang on, Goldpaw! I'm coming!" she called as she stepped cautiously into the water.

The coldness seeped to her skin, but it kept out the coldness because of her thick fur. Anyways, as she swam toward him, she glanced upward to see Goldpaw being slung from the barbells and he was slammed hard against a rock jutting out from the bay. He floated to the surface, knocked out and bleeding as Silverpaw and the Liopleurodon raced for him. With a determination to save her friend, Silverpaw reached him first, grabbed his scruff, slashed the monster on the nose, and used WaterBending to blast them back to shore.

But the Liopleurodon, with its nose bleeding, let out a roar of rage as it dove underwater to get at them easier. And the impact of the huge beast onto the water caused a wave to occur and this very wave carried the two cats to shore before it could resurface. Angrily, the prehistoric beast shot a stream of water out of its mouth, roared one more time, and dove back underwater.

As Silverpaw shook the seawater off of herself, she glanced back to see if the Liopleurodon was coming back. But instead, she saw a bigger threat instead, if not physically bigger: a FireClan ship, arriving into the bay. And on top of it, she could see the one-eared and scarred dark brown tabby tom who attacked her Clan viciously. He seemed to be giving out orders to several cats.

_Bearclaw!_

The ship had easily landed onto the shore, but the Liopleurodon didn't bother to attack the ship; instead, it retreated farther into the bay. When the prow went down onto the sand, Silverpaw grabbed Goldpaw's scruff again and dragged him into a nearby small cave in a rock.

Bearclaw had arrived from the prow as he rode on a very large lizard with a flickering tongue and he was accompanied by several cats who were also riding on the same lizards. Bearclaw meowed, "We're here to search for the Avatar Cat and nothing else. I want him alive," before they walked away.

Silverpaw gazed down at the unconscious Goldpaw and she kept shaking him. "Goldpaw, wake up!" she begged, but he didn't respond.

Desperate, Silverpaw placed her paws onto Goldpaw's chest, moved them around a little, and drew the water from his lungs so that he could breathe. Relief flooded through her entire body as he coughed and sputtered for air.

He gazed up at her with a weak look in his eyes as he rasped, "Silverpaw...don't ride the beast... Not fun..."

Silverpaw felt tears of relief fill her eyes as she held the golden AirClan cat close to her.

**...**

Ashpaw let out a grunt when he lashed a sheathed paw at Echo. He and the red tabby had been working hard and Ashpaw felt himself get stronger by the minute. Ashpaw glanced at Echo, who had fallen to the ground, and he hoped he didn't hurt her.

But Echo seemed to be all right, for she shook the dust from her fur as she smiled and praised him, "Looks like you're getting the hang of this! I'm proud of you!"

Hearing the she-cat purr to him the words warmed him like the winter was warming him up. Ashpaw dipped his head to her and they were about to do another practice session when they heard a yowl of alarm.

Both cats turned to see Roseteller race toward the dojo they were currently at. His amber eyes were wide with fear as he called, "FireClan warriors have invaded our shores! Tribe of Endless Hunting, save us all! Island-guards are to come with me and quickly!"

"But I'm not a...never mind," Ashpaw stammered. He wasn't sure if he could be a good island-guard, but he couldn't forget his real mission: helping Goldpaw. But right now, there was another mission he needed to do now: fight these FireClan cats.

**...**

When they arrived in the town, Ashpaw and the Tribe island-guards hid on top of the roofs as they watched the cats on rhino-sized lizards stalk toward the center of the town. He didn't know the rest of those cats, but there was a certain dark tabby tom he recognized.

_Isn't that Bearclaw? _Ashpaw gasped with mild surprise. _What does that bastard want now?_

Bearclaw gazed around the deserted streets and yowled, "Avatar Cat, come out! You can run from me, but you can't hide!" To his companions, he growled, "Spread out and find him."

The fellow warriors nodded and steered their lizards toward the different paths of the town.

While Ashpaw watched, he saw Echo's claws unsheathe as she and the other she-cats raced after the warriors prowling in the streets below. Suddenly, Ashpaw saw Echo disappear in a red blur and he saw her strike out at one of the warriors, swiping at his muzzle with her claws. The rest of the island-guards followed suit and soon enough, the clearing was full of fighting cats and large lizards.

As Echo pounced at Bearclaw, she twisted her body around to land onto his back and shred his pelt. But she received a hard blow from the lizard's tail and she got smashed to the ground; then Bearclaw swiped his paw at her as fire surrounded it. But Ashpaw, scared for his new friend's life, pounced between them, grabbed Bearclaw's paw between his teeth, and hurled him away and off of the lizard.

"I guess training session's over," he panted as he stood on the lizard.

He and the island-guards cautiously surrounded the winded tabby cat and their eyes were filled with wariness. All of a sudden, Bearclaw began spinning around on his front paws and began shooting fireballs from his hind paws at the cats surrounding him. The fireballs caught the cats by surprise and they were knocked backwards while Bearclaw got back up.

He ran to the middle of the street and yowled to the surroundings, "Really nice, Avatar Cat! But your fan bitches can't protect you forever!"

"Hey, Bearclaw! Over here!"

Ashpaw and Bearclaw looked behind them to see Goldpaw padding calmly toward them. He had his AirBending stick traditionally on his back. Now he looked far from the cat he had seen earlier on the island; now he looked rather serious.

_What's he doing here? _Ashpaw thought, worry planting itself into his nerves. _He's gonna get himself killed!_

"Finally! You're going nowhere, you little bastard!" Bearclaw hissed, intensity in his golden eyes.

**...**

Goldpaw and Bearclaw glared at each other as they prepared for their fight. Goldpaw remembered when it was around a quarter-moon ago since he and his friends had encountered the dark brown tabby warrior.

There wasn't any time to think about that because Bearclaw fired three consecutive fireballs at him with his front paws. Goldpaw dodged each one and began to twirl the stick around in an attempt to get a kick at him. But Bearclaw fired a fireball upwards at him, causing Goldpaw to release his staff and fall to the ground while Bearclaw slashed at his cheek with his claws.

While his cheek bled, Goldpaw scrambled out of the way and found two fans near one building and he picked them up in his jaws. As Bearclaw raced after him like a cheetah, Goldpaw whirled around in a circle and threw a huge gust of wind at him and it slammed him through the wall of another building.

With the tabby tom out of the way for now, Goldpaw threw the fans away, picked up his glider stick, and tossed it into the air. He jumped up to attach himself to it and flew over the town that was now burning. It appeared that, while Ashpaw and the island-guards were fighting Bearclaw, the other FireClan cats had run off to set several buildings on fire. He felt shame burn his pelt as the burning wooden statue of Heavyrose was slowly reduced to a cinder.

_What have I done?_

Goldpaw saw an outer building where several kits were running inside; Silverpaw was guiding them in with the other cats who can't fight. He guessed that several prey-hunters had come back from a hunting patrol and they came back to chaos from the FireClan cats.

"Come on, let's go inside," Silverpaw was comforting a kit who had stumbled. She picked the kit up by the scruff and she gently placed it inside of the building.

She waited until the kits got inside before turning back to Goldpaw, who landed beside her and mewed in an upset tone, "Silverpaw, look what I did to this island."

"Goldpaw, it's not your fault," Silverpaw mewed as she licked the blood off of his cheek.

"Yes, it is," Goldpaw whimpered, wrenching himself away as shame once again burned his pelt. "These cats are getting their home burned because of me."

Silverpaw didn't argue, but she responded, "Okay, let's get off of the island. Once Bearclaw see us leaving, he'll leave the Tribe alone. Although it may be wrong, it's the only way."

Goldpaw hung his head, for he saw truth in what his friend meant. None of the Tribe of Heavy Roses cats would be harmed or killed if Bearclaw followed him and his friends when they leave this place. He wanted peace for these cats, but they couldn't get any while he was around.

Determination hardening his mew, he told her, "I'll get Archie and Tobias."

Getting up from his spot, he raced off in search of his two non-cat friends so they could leave.

**...**

"Get behind here!" Echo hissed, dragging Ashpaw away from a fight between another island-guard, a tortoiseshell, and a black tomcat. The island-guard seemed to be all right as she cuffed the tom so hard on the head that he fell unconscious at her paws.

Echo dropped him behind a large pile of crates and she whispered to him, "You gotta go. There isn't any time to say goodbye!"

"How about 'I'm sorry?'" Ashpaw told her, ready to fully apologize to her for his sexism. He had promised himself to never be horribly sexist toward any she-cat ever again after he saw these cats' potential.

"Huh? What for?"

Ashpaw dropped his head as he confessed, "I'm sorry for not seeing you for what you really are. All I've been doing was treating you like a she-cat when I should've treated you like a fellow warrior and island-guard." He raised his head up to see amazement in her blue-green eyes.

"You're right; I am a warrior. But don't forget this: I'm also a she-cat," she mewed, padding very close to him while Ashpaw looked at her in a confused way. And with that, she leaned forward to him and licked him softly on his cheek.

Stunned by this action, Ashpaw rubbed the licked cheek with his paw. Did she like him? But he brushed it away; surely this wasn't the time to think about mates? Besides, they had to leave right away.

While he rubbed the spot, Echo seemed to read his mind because she nudged him gently away, mewing, "Now get out of here! We'll hold those FireClan bastards off."

Seeing Archie land in front of him, Ashpaw gazed back at Echo In Quiet Storm, gave her one more nod, and climbed onto Archie's tail. Archie let out a roar as he lifted himself hard from the ground and into the sky.

As Archie flew above the wrecked town, Bearclaw spotted them, got onto his Komodo dragon, and roared, "Warriors of FireClan! Back to the ship! Don't let the Avatar Cat get away!" They obeyed his command and hurriedly got onto their Komodo dragons.

**...**

While Archie flew away from the town, Goldpaw padded to the head of his dragon and sat on there, clearly upset at himself about how the island's fate was clearly sealed. Silverpaw, while sitting in the saddle, nodded to Ashpaw and she padded to Goldpaw, mewing with a comforting voice.

"You did the right thing, Goldpaw, while it's hard to accept it. If we stayed any longer, Bearclaw would've killed the entire Tribe. Goldpaw, they'll all be okay. I promise."

Goldpaw didn't look at her; instead, he gazed into the sunset-filled bay, a plan forming in his mind. _I know what I have to do to protect those cats._

And without another word and a look of resolve on his face, he suddenly jumped off of Archie's head and into the bay.

As he dove, Goldpaw could hear Silverpaw yowl, "Goldpaw! What the hell are you doing?"

Goldpaw hit the water a little more attended than usual, but that didn't matter. He swam around until he saw the Liopleurodon feasting on the remains of a dolphin and stared it right in the eyes.

The Liopleurodon glared at him until it saw the determined look in his stormy gray eyes. Without another word, it swam under him, lifted itself to the surface, and threw back its head to give Goldpaw the rein of its barbels. Goldpaw grabbed on and yanked them upwards. The Liopleurodon rose out of the water with a roar and sprayed a huge amount of water spray onto the burning town.

He could hear Roseteller murmur gratefully from a faraway building, "Thank you, Avatar Cat."

With a quick thank-you to the beast, Goldpaw got his glider and used it to fly to the town so that he can see what happened. As he flew, he saw that the buildings were free of fire and they were now charcoal gray. He turned his attention to Bearclaw and his pack of warriors. The dark brown cat looked very sullen as he and his warriors grouped together at the sight of the Liopleurodon.

_Looks like he and his warriors pissed themselves, _Goldpaw thought with grim satisfaction. _Well, it serves them right!_

He flew back to Archie, landed, and hung his head. He was clearly expecting a sharp scolding from Silverpaw about his safety and he would rather face it than get beaten by Bearclaw.

"Don't worry; I know what you're going to say. That was very dangerous and very stupid," he muttered, feeling upset about the upcoming rebuke.

But it never came. Silverpaw had amusement and exasperation in her blue eyes as she mewed, "Yes, it was. But it was also very brave."

He let out a gasp of both astonishment and pleasure as Silverpaw pressed her fur to his and she touched his ear with her muzzle while the Liopleurodon below waved its flippers with a clear "farewell". The sun was finally sinking below the horizon and all was calm and quiet.

_To be continued..._

**...**

**AvatarCat11: I know I made a slight mistake the last chapter, so you'll have to hang on until I do. And I'm glad we're going to my dad's place tomorrow. Besides, my sister's fiancé is kinda getting on my nerves; he was being like my stepdad when he lived with us.**

**Holly: Look on the bright side, AvatarCat. If he and your sister move out after they get married, you could be happy again.**

**Katara: She's right. But don't forget that you have to teach yourself discipline to go on through life.**

**AvatarCat11: Don't worry. I can handle myself. Now if WinxPossible would like to say the review thing again-**

**WinxPossible: (Pipes up from her seat) Sure thing! (To the readers) You see that button at the bottom of the screen? That's the review button; if you press it, you can get virtual ice cream bowls with flavors of your choice and a free drink! And here's the summary for Leader Of MudClan.**

**Summary: Goldpaw takes Silverpaw and Ashpaw to the big city of MudClan where an old king rules. After an accident occurs, will Goldpaw get himself and his friends out of this mess?**

**Everyone: See ya next time! And Happy early Thanksgiving!**


	7. The MudClan Leader

**AvatarCat11: (Comes into the office) I'm back, everyone!**

**Katara: (She and Holly walk over to hug him) Welcome back, AvatarCat!**

**Holly: Did you have fun with your dad?**

**AvatarCat11: You bet! We went to an ice cream place called Marble Slab. It's an ice cream place where you choose your ice cream flavor and your toppings, and then it gets mixed together for a good combination! Then we went to Barnes and Noble, and we also talked about the old times.**

**Holly: Well, we're happy you had fun. Besides, we have a guest with us today.**

**Katara: Her name is Kyuubi No Tenshi. Kyuubi-chan for others.**

**Kyuubi-chan: (Already sitting in an armchair) I wanted to come here and chat for a bit. And here's the disclaimer and summary!**

**Disclaimer: If no one wants to get an earful, you should remember that AvatarCat11 does not own Avatar: The Last AirBender or Warrior Cats. Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter own them.**

**Summary: Goldpaw takes Silverpaw and Ashpaw to the big city of MudClan where an old king rules. After an accident occurs, will Goldpaw get himself and his friends out of this mess?**

**Updating Date: November 16, 2011**

**AvatarCat11: Wow. That was fast. (Tosses her a gift basket)**

**Kyuubi: (Catches it easily) Thanks!**

**Everyone: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The MudClan Leader_

As Goldpaw, Silverpaw, and Ashpaw padded on top of a hill through snow that partly covered the ground, Goldpaw beckoned for the other two young cats over to his side. They were going quite slow, but they were doing their best to catch up with their AirClan friend.

He was going to show them the great big city of MudClan, the second biggest city in EarthClan's territory. It was the place where he and a young cat named Rockpaw used to play around at, even if they had to get scolded by senior warriors there.

"There it is! The EarthClan city of MudClan!" he announced, waving his tail in a happy way.

He pointed his tail to a great look of the valley in front of them. A walled city was resting on top of a huge rock promontory and it was accessible only by a narrow switchback road. The city looked both impressive and impregnable.

As the other two gazed at it with awe, Goldpaw smiled as he went on, "Before I was frozen in the white stone, I'd often visit my friend, Rockpaw, in that city."

Silverpaw looked at the city with awe. "Great StarClan, this is amazing! Our buildings at the Southern WaterClan aren't like that!"

"Yeah!" Ashpaw, who was hunting earlier, mewed as he dropped his vole to the ground. "And the best part is that they don't melt!"

"So what're you waiting for, slow-slugs? All the fun's in those walls!" Goldpaw meowed, loping down the hill and towards the city. He jumped off another ledge and launched himself down the hill some more.

But Silverpaw called, "Goldpaw, wait! If cats find out you're the Avatar Cat, it'll be dangerous!"

Ashpaw padded up to his sister to stand by her side and replied, "She's right. What you need is a disguise!"

Goldpaw gave them a confused look. What exactly were they implying? If so, he would have to find a good disguise, because there could be enemies within the walls who would like to pounce on him just by seeing his arrow markings. There could even be FireClan cats waiting within the walls to strike him down and claim victory in this long war.

He replied, "So what the hell do I do? Grow a second pelt?"

Both Silverpaw and Ashpaw smirked widely at each another, and a few minutes later, Goldpaw was covered in itchy white stuff that felt like pigeon down; he also had added fur on his face to create a mustache to indicate him being old. He immediately began using one of his hind paws to scratch at an itchy spot that the stuff was causing.

"Damn, this is so itchy!" he complained as he scratched behind his ear. He complained to Archie, who was sitting behind him, "Hey, Archie, how do you get along with this mess?" For it was Archie's shed fur that caused Goldpaw to look like an old longhaired white cat.

The large white dragon just gave him a roar in response.

"Okay, that looks great! You look like our grandpa!" Ashpaw told the AirClan apprentice as he came to inspect Goldpaw.

Silverpaw purred, "Well, Goldpaw _is_ a fourteen years old cat, after all."

Goldpaw purred at that comment, but part of him wished she didn't have to mention that part. He still didn't get over the fact that he was frozen in a White Stone for over fourteen years. But he decided to just let it slide out of the way for now.

So he picked up his AirBending staff in his jaws, started using it like a cane, and rasped in a pretend elderly voice, "Now let's get skedaddling, young whippersnappers! The great city of MudClan awaits us!" He was practicing limping around like an old cat as he walked toward the city.

He didn't notice Silverpaw and Ashpaw give each other amused glances and purr before they began padding after their friend. The three cats had convinced Archie to stay behind and keep a lookout for enemies.

**...**

As they approached the city, Goldpaw saw the the path to MudClan open up to a narrow path over a crevice. Just when the three cats approached, a rough voice was heard. The three stopped short at the sound, and they managed to get a good view of the city gate just up ahead. A gray tabby male merchant with a cart was trying to get into the city, but the guard was giving him a lot of trouble.

"Don't worry about it," Goldpaw told his friends. "MudClan cats are really friendly!"

"Rotten lettuces?" one of the guards was sneering as the merchant tried to hold up a lettuce. "What kind of shit is this?"

He crushed the lettuce in his jaws and knocked those in the merchant's paws over the side of the access road. Then the guard EarthBended a lump of the ground, knocking the merchant's lettuce cart high into the air and over the side of the access road. The cart and all the merchant's lettuces plunged hundreds of cat-lengths to the valley ground below.

The merchant cat wailed, "Nooo! My lettuces!" He was wailing as he looked down at the ground where the lettuces had fallen.

Goldpaw and his friends did the same, except they didn't wail like the merchant did. As Goldpaw watched as the lettuces fell down into the abyss, he grinned to his friends.

"Okay...keep smiling and walking..."

Still smiling, Goldpaw walked ahead and headed to the same guards. Silverpaw giggled uneasily, but she and Ashpaw decided to move forward instead of standing around like a rock.

The brown tabby guard who just ruined the lettuce cart seconds ago padded towards Goldpaw to confront him. He flicked his tail toward a huge rock and the rock flew out of the ground and it floated above the disguised apprentice.

"State your business, sir," the guard growled.

Goldpaw knew how to get past this cat, so he rushed forward out from under the rock in a move much too sprightly for his supposed age. He pointed an accusing paw at the guard and using his old tomcat voice, began to speak. "Young tom, my business is my business and not yours! I have a mind of cuffing your ears and riding you around the city like a mule!"

Looking surprised, the tomcat threw the rock away. Goldpaw looked around to see Silverpaw and Ashpaw looking shocked at what the young AirClan cat was doing.

"Whoa there, old cat. Settle down and just tell me who you are," the guard mewed, still looking shocked about the "old cat."

"My name is Willie Irishrabbitfoot the Third," Goldpaw introduced himself in his pretend old voice. "And these kids here are my grandkits," he added, beckoning for both WaterClan cats to come forward and give out weird names.

Silverpaw was smiling calmly at the guard as she put in, "Greetings. I'm April Irishrabbitfoot. Pleased to meet you."

The guard nodded as he studied the silver she-cat before he mewed, the authority returning to his voice, "Well, you seem to be a responsible she-cat. Make sure your grandpa doesn't step into any trouble."

"Yes, sir," Silverpaw replied, dipping her head to the warrior.

"Enjoy your stay in MudClan!" The guard stepped out of the way to let the three cats pad right toward the gates, but Ashpaw seemed to be lagging behind.

"You there!" the guard suddenly growled, dragging the dark gray tabby cat away from there.

Fear ran through Goldpaw when he saw his friend brought away from them. But when he turned around, he saw that Ashpaw was dragged away semi-roughly, not fully roughly.

The tom growled to Ashpaw, "You look like a strong tomcat. Obey the Warrior Code and carry your grandfather's items for him."

"Great idea!" Goldpaw old-mewed, tossing his orange bag to the dark gray tom, who gave him a confused look.

The three apprentices looked up at the gate, which was stone and involved three mobile linking stone walls. The three were shocked by the size and power of this fortification. The gates began to close again as the three moved to pass through it. But when Goldpaw allowed the others to go in before him, he didn't notice the guard staring in shock at Tobias' tail feathers, which poked out of Goldpaw's "white" fur.

**...**

The three got inside the gate and looked over a railing at the interior of the city. They peeked over the railing to reveal many houses with roofs painted in EarthClan green. There were chutes all over the city with crates and packages sliding along them. Noticing their awe, Goldpaw began to explain about the chutes that were all over the city.

"This is the MudClan delivery system," the young Avatar Cat explained, abandoning his old voice and going back to his own voice. "There are snake-lengths of chutes and tubes all over here. The packages are brought up by EarthBending and they're brought down by gravity."

Ashpaw mewed just with slight interest, "So they really get their mail on time, eh?"

Goldpaw nodded, grinned in a playful way, and replied, "You're right, Ashpaw. But my old pal Rockpaw found a better way to use those things."

**(Author's Note: Remember: it's a flashback.)**

_..._

_Moons ago, Goldpaw and his friend Rockpaw, a gray tom with his top fangs sticking out and different colored eyes (one orange and one a crooked light green), were overlooking the city of MudClan. Goldpaw had no idea why Rockpaw called him to the place of the chutes, but thinking about it made him even more confused._

_Rockpaw turned to him with a sly yet slightly insane smile on his face and instructed him,_ "_Look around you, buddy." Goldpaw obeyed and saw all the mail routes of the MudClan city. "What do you see?"_

_Not knowing what his friend was getting at, Goldpaw shrugged and mewed, "Ummm...the mail system. Why? What're you thinking about?"_

_Rockpaw just let out a _mrrow _of laughter, flicked his tail around, and meowed jokingly, "Good one, Goldpaw! But instead of seeing what other cats want you to see, you gotta open your mind to all the possibilities on the planet!"_

"_You mean a package-sending system?" Goldpaw asked him, still looking a little confused. What was this crazy friend of him saying?_

_If Rockpaw didn't say something soon, things would get weirder and weirder. But he admitted that he had to purr when Rockpaw bopped him on the nose in a friendly way._

"_More than just a package-delivery system, my friend," Rockpaw replied to his golden-pelted friend. "Those chutes also make it the best giant slide to ever be made in Clan history!"_

_Both he and Goldpaw looked down at the closest chute; they saw that the way one of the parcels slid down the chute, it _did _look like a slide, only it was bigger. And to Rockpaw, it just seemed all the more fun. They watched again as more packages slid on the slide before they turned back to each other._

_Goldpaw purred, "I gotta paw it to you, Rockpaw, but you're a mad genius!"_

_Rockpaw began laughing his familiar mad laugh, and Goldpaw began laughing too when he heard the iron-colored apprentice snort like a stuffed warthog while he laughed. Then the two began talking about their plans about how to ride on the chutes like slides before riding down the chutes in a crate. They were yowling with cheer and ignoring the shocked looks from other cats._

_**...**_

"Yep! Just one ride and then we'll go to the Northern WaterClan! AirClan cats always keep their promises!"

Goldpaw told Silverpaw and Ashpaw this as they teetered on the ledge. They were at the same place that Goldpaw and Rockpaw were at when the tale began. Except _they _were the ones on the ledge in a crate. While Goldpaw looked excited, Silverpaw and Ashpaw looked as if an eagle just landed right in front of them.

Silverpaw squeaked, "Goldpaw, I wanted to come ride this earlier, but now I feel that I don't want to...!"

As soon as the silver apprentice finished her sentence, the crate tilted forward into the chute and they began hurtling away as fast as a cheetah. As they rode down the chute, they saw two chutes joined together: one that they were on and one that carried a bracket of daggers made of eagles' talons. The two crates met as Ashpaw ducked into the crate to avoid getting stabbed in the throat by the swords. Both he and his sister yowled with fear as the swords got closer.

Goldpaw turned to them and shouted, "Don't worry! I'll get to it!"

At that, he started rocking the crate back and forth in the chute. He soon derailed them out of the chute and their bin freefell onto a rooftop below. Down below, they saw a group of EarthClan warrior cats being addressed by a senior warrior.

The head warrior was meowing, "All right, warriors of EarthClan. You're going out to battle soon. It's very important that you get prepared for anything."

But at that moment, the crate where the three apprentices were in bounced down to the ground in front of the MudClan warriors. The scene in the crate was strange: Goldpaw was trying to pull the crate up with his hind paw in Silverpaw's face while Ashpaw was panicking in the back and looking sick. With an AirBending trick, Goldpaw managed to propel them back up into the air and back onto the chutes.

As they rode down the chute swiftly, Silverpaw managed to yowl, "Goldpaw, do something about the speed! Use your AirBending!"

"Great idea, Silverpaw! I'll make us go faster!" Goldpaw called back as he blasted air behind them, making them speed up.

This act made Ashpaw growl, "Way to go, Silverpaw. You just encouraged the little shit to go faster!"

The three apprentices saw the city dwellers looking at them in alarm as they whizzed by down the chute. As they approached the drop down of the last major chute, they all yowled as they saw the off-load point just in front of them. The off-load had a package on it that they were going to hit. An EarthBender cat next to it moved the package, causing the three young cats to breathe a sigh of relief.

However, the EarthBender raised another package into the off-load point, making the cats yowl again. Rather than hit the package, they hit the side of the trench and ran off the track once again. They all fell out of the crate and were falling, but Goldpaw AirBended them back into the crate. They bounced off a roof and into a cat's work room, destroying his pottery. They bounced off his floor and out the window opposite the one they came in.

"Sorry!" Goldpaw called out to him with embarrassment as they crashed into another house and flew right through it.

While they went through it, Tobias got out of the thick dragon fur and was now fighting a black-footed ferret in the wig of "white fur." Goldpaw threw the ferret out while they crashed through the wall of the balcony and dropped down again, screaming.

Meanwhile, the merchant cat with the lettuces was hugging with a head of lettuce. Suddenly, he poked his head out, for he heard something falling outside his stand, looked up, and jumped back in time as the crate and the Clan cats fell onto the lettuce cart, totally destroying it and blowing heads of lettuce all over the place.

The cats landed in a heap and Goldpaw's disguise of white fur was completely gone, only leaving his golden pelt and white arrow markings. Goldpaw felt rather dizzy yet happy he rode on the chutes again while his friends looked rather sick.

"My lettuces!" the merchant whined. But then he snarled angrily, "You three will pay for ruining my lettuces!"

Immediately, as the apprentices were surrounded by five warriors, Goldpaw glanced up at them and he mewed sheepishly, "Three heads of lettuce, please."

**...**

Goldpaw and his friends shivered as they were brought to the MudClan leader's castle. The throne chamber was decorated in all sorts of green: light, dark, or pale. And right in the center of the room, on a green throne, sat an iron-colored tomcat with rusted orange and green eyes.

This cat looked a little like Rockpaw to Goldpaw, with his crazed look, but this cat was much older than he was. The leader gazed down at the three apprentices as they were forced to bow before the leader.

"Mmm? What's this about?" the old tom rasped, his voice like rusted bones.

"Sir, these three juvenile cats were arrested for traveling under false pretenses, vandalism, and the vicious damage of lettuces," the guard cat informed his leader.

The merchant cat glared at the three apprentices and yowled with anger, "Off with their heads! One head for each head of destroyed head of lettuce!"

However, the guard pounced on the merchant and he growled, "Shut the hell up, merchant! The leader is the one who can give out judgments! Sir, what is your decision?"

The iron-pelted cat glanced down at the three apprentices and saw three different looks: Ashpaw looked very nervous and was shuffling his paws, Silverpaw was gazing up at him with wide blue eyes in a hoping plea, and Goldpaw was just confused, so he just began grooming his tail and acting like he wasn't in the room.

After the guard told Goldpaw to not groom before the leader, the gray tom gave his judgment:

"I, leader of MudClan, sentence these three cats to...a banquet!"

As the guards gave him a surprised look and the merchant groaned with discontent, Goldpaw just mewed, "Huh?"

A few minutes later, the three apprentices were seated at the head of a large table with all sorts of food in front of them. Tobias was released instantly from the cage and flew to the table, gulping down a mouse covered with butter and mayonnaise.

The MudClan leader leaped in front of them as he held a leg of mutton in his jaws, laughing, "The cats in MudClan have become fat cats from too many banquets. So I hope you like your mutton without the skin!"

"Thank you, sir, but I don't eat any butchered meat," Goldpaw replied.

It was true. His Clan had taught him that prey was killed only to be eaten and to be played with every now and then when prey was plentiful. But to him, prey shouldn't be chopped to pieces like a piece of bark. It would make him feel very sick to his belly.

The leader gave a huff before he turned to Ashpaw and mewed, "What about you, dark gray cat? I'm sure that you like meat," he added, stuffing the leg of mutton into the WaterClan cat's mouth. Ashpaw chewed the meat with enthusiasm and hunger as he gnawed on the bone with great gusto.

When the leader padded back to the end of his table, Silverpaw twirled her paw near her head when she mewed to Goldpaw, "Is it me, or is his brain a little screwed too tight?"

Goldpaw just shrugged at her and he focused his attention back onto the gray cat, feeling as if he knew that he have heard about his personality from another cat before. Rockpaw was like this cat, so this must be...

_No, it can't be, _he chided himself. _If he were Rockpaw, he'd be dead by now! But he could've been alive still; he'd be fourteen years old, after all._

The MudClan leader sat down at his spot and rasped, "So, tell me, young tomcat. Where do you hail from?"

"Um..." Goldpaw mewed, thinking of a frantic made-up name. Then he replied at last: "I come from Rabbit Island."

"Rabbit Island, eh?" the leader answered him, giving him a look from his crazy rusty eyes. Then, he nodded and added, "I've heard that place is really jumpy!"

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Ashpaw began laughing like a maniac on catnip. But it made Goldpaw and Silverpaw glance at him as his tail just split into two tails. Ashpaw seemed to notice this because he gave them a defensive look.

"Come on! It was funny!" he yelped defensively.

The MudClan leader gave a yawn, stretched so much that his joints cracked, and began padding away, meowing over his shoulder, "All this joking with strangers makes me very tired. Time to get some shut-eye."

Suddenly, he whirled around and tossed a second leg of mutton straight at Goldpaw, who AirBended it to a standstill, though he was very surprised. It spun around in the air in front of him like one of the swirling seeds in the air. The guards immediately drew breath in surprise, while his friends looked down onto the ground with shame.

The leader immediately sat down and announced, "It seems there is an AirBender in the room. But he is not just an AirBender. He is the Avatar Cat!" Leering at Goldpaw in a maniacal way, he rasped, "Now, you got anything to say for yourself, Mr. Irishrabbitfoot?"

When he finished saying that, he began laughing in a crazy and freaky way, making Goldpaw back away and squeeze between the two WaterClan cats. The warriors were surrounding them, their claws unsheathed and their spears pointing to them.

_We're crow-food, _he thought with horror. _How are we gonna get ourselves out of this mess?_

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldpaw crouched to the ground as a gesture of defeat. He doubted they would escape without scars, but he decided to just lay low and calmly tell the old MudClan leader about the situation. That way, no suspicion would be aroused.

"All right, old timer," he mewed, crouching to the ground. "You caught me. I am the Avatar Cat, just doing my Avatar Cat stuff and keeping the world safe! Everything's fine here!" he added as he peeked underneath the table in a pretending mood.

"No FireClan cats here. So good job, everyone!" he added, pulling the other apprentices into a group hug, grinning widely. "Love each other, respect all life, and don't run with your daggers. See ya next time!"

The three cats have been walking backwards to the door, but the guards stopped them right where they were. The MudClan leader continued to gaze at them with his crazed rust-colored eyes.

Silverpaw stepped forward and growled, "You can't keep us here forever! Let us leave!"

"Lettuce leaf?" the old tom mewed, pulling a lettuce leaf forward and started chewing on it. Apparently it wasn't the tomcat's ancient looks that weren't screwed on too tight.

While they stared at him with disbelief, Ashpaw leaned forward to the other cats and whispered, "We're in huge trouble here. This guy's off his rocker!"

The MudClan tomcat straightened himself up as he sat at the head of the table, his rusted eyes now looking very serious. He looked very much like a vulture gazing down at a piece of crow-food.

"The following day, the Avatar Cat will have to face three different but grueling tasks. He'll need to be prepared for them," he rasped with the authority of a true leader. "For the time being, my warriors will lead you to your chamber."

One guard padded forward and whispered, "Sir, which chamber are we talking about: the good or bad chamber?"

The king just muttered, "We're talking about the newly decorated chamber."

"Which one is that again?" the guard asked him, his amber eyes confused.

"It's the one that used to be the bad chamber, until the recent decorating, of course. Well, we've been calling it the new chamber, but we should number them and check the damn thing just in case. Uh, anyways," he added before Goldpaw and his friends were led away from the throne chamber, "take them to the decorated chamber that was once bad but then was decorated!"

As they were led away, the three apprentices turned around to see the leader still sitting at the table, gazing after them, and resuming eating his leaf of lettuce. Something told Goldpaw that there was something behind the eyes of the crazy tom, and it looked like the look in Rockpaw's eyes.

_He's not Rockpaw! _he scolded himself. _He wouldn't survive fourteen years of war! He'd be dead right now!_

**...**

The three cats watched as they saw the guards working on a wall torn open by EarthBending. The three were thrust in and the door was closed behind them with EarthBending. The chamber inside was beautiful, spacious, and, of course, furnished with three comfortable green nests.

"You call this a prison?" Silverpaw mewed with disbelief as she spun around on her spot. "This is a nice chamber!"

"Well, he did say this room was recently decorated," Goldpaw reminded her.

Ashpaw interrupted their conversation by mewing, "Yeah, well, we're still prisoners, even if this place is nice or not."

Goldpaw agreed with the dark gray tabby tom. This place was a bit roomy, but they were trapped like mice in a bramble thicket. They had to find a way out, but they had to stay and find out what the three deadly challenges were. Goldpaw wondered what they would be about; he thought they could be about puzzles or quizzes.

As if she could read his mind, Silverpaw meowed, "We're not gonna stick around to hear what these challenges will be about. We need to find a way out of this hellhole."

The "hellhole" comment made Goldpaw snort with laughter. Just a few seconds ago, Silverpaw called this chamber a "nice chamber." He wondered what made her change her mind, but now wasn't the right time to find out.

However, he did see something that they could use to escape: the air vents in the wall. If he could loosen the bolts on there a little, he could perhaps find a way for all three (plus Tobias) to get out.

He dashed over to one of them, a small circular hole in the wall, and pried open the vent with his teeth. And then he spat the bolts down to the ground.

"No way," Ashpaw hissed angrily. "You must be a hell lot crazier than that leader if you think we're escaping through that thing!"

"I know WE can't get through," Goldpaw meowed, waving his tail about, "but TOBIAS can!"

He turned toward his red-tailed hawk, ignoring the fact that Tobias was now bloated. The red-tailed hawk was laying eagle-spread as he lounged on one of the nests, still trying to eat the leftovers of a cooked goose.

"Hey, Tobias! Go get Archie!" Goldpaw commanded the hawk.

But Tobias didn't move. Instead, he continued to gulp down some more goose meat.

So Goldpaw did the other thing he planned: stuff Tobias headfirst into one of the vents and he would escape to find Archie. And that was what he did. But no matter how hard he tried, Tobias just got more stuck. In fact, he looked more stuck than a carp gasping for water on land.

"Come on, buddy! Go find Archie!" he growled as he shoved the raptor in further.

Ashpaw approached Goldpaw and mewed, "Uh, Goldpaw? How is Archie gonna get us out?"

"Archie's a nine ton dragon. He'll think of something," Goldpaw replied as Tobias tried another failed attempt to free himself from the air vent.

Silverpaw stretched, hopped into one of the nests, and mewed, "There's no point in arguing about it right now, you two." Curling up into a ball of silver fur, she added, "Goldpaw, get some rest. You're going to need it for tomorrow." At that, she fell asleep.

Goldpaw sighed dejectedly, but there WAS no point in arguing, after all. So, with a routed sigh, he padded over to the last nest that wasn't occupied. He leaped up onto the nest, burrowed a bit into the covers, and curled up into a ball.

After a few minutes of thinking about the tasks, like battles or other stuff, he finally let sleep take him.

**...**

Goldpaw was snoring so loudly that it would wake a humpback whale from its sleep. AirClan cats had been infamously known to snore loudly, though not as loudly as a dragon, elephant, or whale. When he woke up, he stretched, yawned, and turned around to see if his friends were there, fast asleep.

Instead, his friends...had suddenly disappeared.

_Silverpaw? Ashpaw? Where'd they go?_

As Goldpaw sniffed around for their scent, which had turned stale, he felt the room shake as an EarthBender opened the door. With an enraged snarl, he dashed over to the guard, knocked him to the ground, and growled, "Tell me where my friends are at!"

"When you complete your tasks, your friends will come to you," the guard retorted, pushing the golden tom off of him as if he were just clay. "And the leader didn't say what happens if you fail."

Then he kinked his tail for the staff, so Goldpaw gave it up and tossed it to the guard. It was probably meant that he couldn't use cheating moves in the tasks.

A few minutes later, Goldpaw entered the green throne room, flanked by two strong-looking warriors. He saw the MudClan leader approach them, and Goldpaw saw that he was wearing a horrible, blue, purple and light green cape.

_His mate would tell him that it looks great, _Goldpaw mused to himself.

"Good morning, Avatar Cat," the leader rasped. "First off, what do you think of my new cape? Give me your most honest onion."

_You mean "opinion?" _Goldpaw sighed, but he didn't bother to correct the iron-colored cat. Instead, he muttered, "It's fine...I guess."

"Great job, young one! You passed the test!" the leader cheered. Goldpaw felt really happy at that, thinking that his friends would be brought to him.

That was true...until the MudClan leader added, "But you didn't pass one of the deadly tasks first. The tasks ahead will be more...tricky."

_He's really pissing me off! _With an angry growl, he leaped away from the guards and stood nose-to-nose with the very old cat, snarling, "Just give me my friends so we can leave! I don't have time for your stupid charades!"

Instead of getting angry, the leader smiled a toothless grin. "Ohh, I knew you'd refuse..."

At that moment, a "door" was opened by EarthBending guards, who were holding Silverpaw and Ashpaw hostage in the corridor beside them. Seeing this, Goldpaw had an urge to rush over to them and get them free, but he couldn't move. His paws were frozen to the ground and his mind was telling him to not move or else.

The two cats tried hard not to struggle until the guards placed small colored rings on one of their toes which contract to fit snugly as soon as they are worn. NOW Silverpaw and Ashpaw began to struggle to take them off, but they couldn't get them off.

"...so I gave your pals some souvenirs," the MudClan tom continued. "These charming rings are made of pure genemite, but it is also known as the crouching-and-creeping crystal. It's a crystal that will grow fast. By moonhigh, your friends will be wholly buried in it. Terrible fate, really; several cats have died from it. I can stop it, but only if you cooperate." He leered at Goldpaw in a crazy way as he said this.

Goldpaw turned back to his friends, and he saw the ring on Ashpaw's toe grow on it. It was now covering the toe and its claw.

"Mrrow! This shit grows fast!" the dark gray tom squealed with fright.

His ears flattening with defeat, Goldpaw dipped his head to the leader and growled, "Fine. I'll do what you want."

The leader bowed back, only there was an insanely sneering look on his old face.

**...**

The leader had placed Goldpaw in a cavern area full of jagged rocks. Goldpaw was left standing on a small stone parapet with a waterfall in the background. The cavern floor, meanwhile, was entirely covered in stalagmites. Meanwhile, the leader, guards, and prisoners were waiting at the top of a balcony. Crystal was already covering the right forelegs of the WaterClan cats, and the leader let out a cackle at that.

The MudClan leader started speaking, "I'm hungry and I can't find the key that unlocks my snack box. Oh, there it is!" he sang, pointing with his paw at a key hanging by a chain in the middle of the waterfall. A ladder reached up from the ground of the cavern to about where the key dangled. "May you please fetch it for me?"

With a grunt of vexation, Goldpaw leapt into action. Using his AirBending skills, he bounded quickly from stalagmite to stalagmite. He charged head-on into the waterfall, holding his breath, and began to climb the ladder. The force of the water just stopped him from making progress, however. He tried hard to sink his claws into the bars of the ladder as he climbed upward.

"Oh, so we're going with the ladder, are we?" the iron-gray leader replied with gleeful sarcasm. "No one's ever thought of that!"

But Goldpaw lost his grip and was quickly shot out of the waterfall. He was just about to get impaled in his privates when he recovered quickly and slid between two stalagmites, a paw on each side. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at his friends, regaining his determination. This time, he flew up to the stalactites on the ceiling and was soon looking down at the key. He concentrated hard, leaped into the waterfall, and was shot back out, grabbing onto a stalagmite.

The leader nodded and rasped, "That's right. Keep jumping head-in. It'll work soon."

_Head-in? _Goldpaw thought with wonder. Then it hit him. _That's it!_

Getting the idea now, he broke off the top of the stalagmite he was clinging to and he hurled it at the chain holding the key. Using his AirBending skills, he made sure it broke the chain totally and it carried the bottom part of it along with the key up to the balcony.

The tip of the stalagmite embedded itself like a stinger from a wasp into the top of the doorway. The key was now dangling just over the surprised leader's head.

"Here! Enjoy your damn snack!" Goldpaw spat, panting. "Give me my friends back NOW, you crazy bastard!"

But the elderly leader rasped, "Hold on, young tom; we're not through yet. We have another task ahead." While Goldpaw cursed himself for forgetting the other tasks, the leader went on, "My poor wittle pet Fluffy got lost. May you please find him for me?"

**...**

Goldpaw landed into the shallow pen-like arena, where a cute little rabbit was sitting on a rock. At first tempted to eat it, Goldpaw then landed right beside the rabbit, which gave him a bored look. He had almost sunk his teeth into the rabbit and almost ate it, but he held himself back in time.

Rabbits have been known to be AirClan and WindClan prey since AirClan cats and WindClan cats have been known to run fast after them. That was why Goldpaw was lured to eat the rabbit at first.

"Mission accomplished!" Goldpaw called to the leader, who was sitting on another balcony with the prisoners and the guards.

"Now bring him here," the leader mewed. "I want a kiss from Fluffy to his Daddy!" Goldpaw gave a sigh at that.

Suddenly, a huge thud echoed through the ground and a large shadow reached above him and the rabbit. The rabbit gave a squeal and ran off and Goldpaw turned around to see why Fluffy ran off: a huge purple-backed white gorilla was standing behind him. Goldpaw knew about these animals: they looked like Twolegs, except that they are wilder.

He had learned about these large primates from Goldenstripe. Gorillas were large animals that weighed about four hundred pounds and they looked like Twolegs indeed. They also ate plants from their jungle home and they lived together in peace. And they were gentle creatures who would not fight unless they had to.

But this gorilla...did not look so gentle.

**(Author's Note: Something familiar about this gorilla, fans of Danny Phantom?)**

The golden apprentice turned back to the rabbit, running and calling, "Fluffy, come here!"

As Goldpaw landed right next to Fluffy, the gorilla caught up to them and smashed a boulder with its mighty fists. The rabbit squealed again before dashing off. Goldpaw had dodged the smash by flipping backwards.

The scene turned to a wild goose chase as Goldpaw chased the rabbit while the gorilla chased Goldpaw when he called "Fluffy", leaving the MudClan leader to cackle with glee. To Goldpaw's dismay, the rabbit fled into a hole in the wall of the arena and Goldpaw tried to follow it by sliding up next to it and stuck his paw in the hole. He rummaged around for the rabbit, but he found nothing.

As the gorilla got closer, Goldpaw got another idea. _Maybe Fluffy isn't the rabbit, _he realized. _That gorilla must be..._

"Fluffy?" he asked the gorilla as he faced it.

To his surprise, the gorilla stopped rampaging and started waggling its rear in the air. Fluffy picked up Goldpaw as it made gentle cooing sounds and hugged him while Goldpaw yowled with surprise. He stopped yowling when Fluffy gave him a kiss on the forehead, like a mother gorilla would give to her child.

Goldpaw purred with delight and rubbed his face next to Fluffy's. It felt great hanging out with an animal that wasn't going to eat him or anything like that. At the sound of the leader's calling of whistles and cooing sounds, Fluffy dropped the golden cat to the ground and climbed over the wall with pure ease.

Fluffy flopped over onto his back and the gray leader purred, "Aww, who's a good boy? Who's got the softest belly ever? You do!" As he rubbed the gorilla's belly, Fluffy's hind leg began twitching with pleasure and happiness.

Sighing with relief, Goldpaw leaped up the wall and climbed back onto the balcony where he greeted Silverpaw and Ashpaw. He didn't like the sight of their situation: they were covered from head to paw in the crystals.

"You guys okay?" Goldpaw panted from exhaustion.

"We're fine, other than the crystals covering my body," Silverpaw responded in a false-cheery voice. She turned to Ashpaw, who seemed to have a similar problem. But a new length of crystal grew at the side of Ashpaw's cheek, causing him to tip over and keel over.

Meanwhile, the leader was ignoring Goldpaw's severe glare as the golden cat growled, "Let's go, already! Let's get to the next task! I'm breaking my ass over this!"

**...**

It took the leader a few minutes to finally finish patting Fluffy's belly and they finally reached the last place: an EarthBending arena. It was ill-lit and largely featureless except the dirt floor. As usual, there was a balcony, but there was an extra one this time. Goldpaw and the MudClan leader were on one balcony, while the prisoners and the guards were on the other. Plus, the crystals had already covered everything on the apprentices, except for their faces and paws.

**(Author's Note: What? They gotta walk and talk sometime! You expect them to just be carried over by the purple-backed gorilla or something?)**

"Your final task will be a one-on-one combat challenge," the leader explained to Goldpaw, not putting in a joke this time. "And I'll give you a treat, though not an extra dinner, mind you: you can choose your opponent! Pick carefully," he added while stepping between two huge animals.

The animal to his left was a huge rhinoceros that looked as if it relied only on brute force to win. And the animal on the right was an African elephant that looked as if it could never forget...to kill. Goldpaw cowered under the glares of the two animals, terrified of facing them.

_So, when he said whoever I choose, that's the animal I get to fight?_ After moments of thinking, Goldpaw finally picked his foe.

"I choose...you!" he announced, pointing at the leader with his tail.

Surprisingly, the iron-gray cat only sneered. "Hahaha! Big mistake!"

With some effort, the leader managed to get his lumpy composure right. He tossed the cape off of his shoulders to reveal a surprisingly muscular physique for such an old tomcat, one that was impossible for an elder. He was clearly a formidable warrior cat and Goldpaw shrunk back with horror when he realized his fatal choice.

The MudClan leader was also apparently a master EarthBender, for he stomped on the ground, blowing Goldpaw far into the arena and landing heavily in the dust. Then he amazingly launched himself from the balcony, landed in front of the golden apprentice, and cackled in a maniacally evil way as he stalked towards him.

This cat was going to be the toughest cat Goldpaw would face so far.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

With a very startled gulp, Goldpaw stepped backwards, only to have the MudClan leader stalk towards him. There was also a mad gleam in his rusted orange-&-green gaze.

The leader hissed as he took a pawstep forward, "You've seen me as an old helpless elder, but I'm the toughest EarthBending warrior you'll face so far!"

_Damn, this is gonna be hard!_ Goldpaw backed up a little more and he mewled, "Uh, can I fight the rhino instead?"

"Sorry, youngster," the MudClan tom spat madly. "There aren't any 'takie-backs' in my Clan!"

He flicked his tail toward the guard then back to Goldpaw, and the guard hurled Goldpaw's staff back to him. Goldpaw caught it in his teeth and braced himself for the rough brawl. As soon as he had grabbed the staff, the battle began.

Immediately, the leader lifted his tail for several boulders to float and he flung them at Goldpaw, who leapt to one side to avoid being hit by them. The MudClan tom licked his lips and rasped, "Ah, the old AirClan tactic of dodging and evading. I was hoping that the Avatar Cat would meet me head-on."

He flicked his tail again and sent another boulder at Goldpaw, but the golden apprentice dodged it again and jumped into the air at him. Claws unsheathed and teeth bared, he was prepared to make this cat pay for what he did to his friends.

"Well, Avatar Cat, do have a surprise you want to pull?" the MudClan leader taunted him, his muscles tightening with a certain thrill. "You need to strike soon, or you'll meet my fangs at your throat!"

He sent another boulder at Goldpaw, who avoided it once again, and the boulder hit the side of the arena and shattered into rubble.

But Goldpaw was near the shattering, and it made him fall and drop his staff. He could feel more than a few bits of boulder cut his skin and shook the blood away from his eyes. But he wasn't up to giving up yet, so he managed to stand up and started to dash to the iron-gray leader.

The old tomcat had risen to his hind paws and started dancing on the spot for some odd reason. But Goldpaw found out too late why he was dancing: he wasn't dancing; he was EarthBending! Suddenly pillars shot up from the ground and one of them aimed at Goldpaw, slamming him hard in the belly by the pillar.

The young Avatar Cat slowly rose to his paws as he saw another rock being hurled towards him at high speed. Goldpaw had just enough time to dodge out of the way, but one part of the rock caught his back paw and he was hurled at another pillar.

The leader cackled and continued to taunt him, "Come on, you little whippersnapper! That's all you got? Be creative!"

Goldpaw jumped off of another pillar with his well-known Air Paws. He dashed around the wall of the arena, hoping to approach the tomcat from the right. It seemed to work well because he inhaled very deeply and quickly exhaled, shooting a great gale from his nostrils. But the blocking part wasn't what he exactly planned; the MudClan leader had stomped the ground with his front paws and he sent a wall of stone to block the wind from getting him.

For a strange reason, the MudClan cat poked his head from behind the boulder, smiling crazily, and he mewed in an insane voice, "It's a little drafty in here. Is the door open?" He dropped his joking look and he added menacingly with a serious face, "Do you think I'll catch fever?"

_There he goes with his nuttiness again! _Goldpaw groaned inwardly. Even in combat, this cat always seemed to make a joke about it!

Determined to kick his tail, Goldpaw ran toward his opponent, jumping out of his Air Paws. The MudClan cat kicked over the stone sheet and began raising it on earth from the arena's surface. He shot the earth beneath the stone sheet with his front paws at Goldpaw, and it knocked him to the ground. Goldpaw saw him strike the ground with his claws, sending a shock wave through the arena straight at him. The Avatar Cat flipped backwards and evaded the shock wave, but he was now close to the rear wall of the arena.

"So tell me, Avatar Cat," the leader called to him from the other side of the arena, "how the hell do you expect to get to me from that side?"

"I'm just doing my best!" he called back, pushing off the wall and flying straight at the elder warrior, who used the side of his foot to dash the earth.

The ground around Goldpaw became quicksand and he fell in. While watching him panic, the iron-pelted cat raised two boulders and sent them to smash the struggling Goldpaw. Goldpaw managed to escape just in time as the rocks smash together. He pounced straight at his foe, releasing a blast of wind that knocked him and the stone sheet he stood on back against the wall of the arena.

The elder raised one of the boulders from where he just failed to crush Goldpaw and pulled it back towards him at frightening speed. The Avatar Cat saw it just in time and preformed a backflip that barely allowed him to get up and over the flying stone. The stone moved on to almost crush the elder leader, but he broke it into many pieces as it got to him.

With tremendous effort, the leader ripped the entire gate area of the arena out of the ground and held it over his head. Goldpaw howled in terror and began to run in circles, creating a dusty tornado. The MudClan elder threw the massive earth mound, but the tornado seized it and threw it back at him. As it reached the leader, who yelped with surprise, he used his claws to slice it neatly in two. Goldpaw leaped between the rock pieces and pinned the gray tom with his staff. The leader smirked and looked up. Goldpaw, who felt confused, also looked up as a little piece of rock bounced off his head.

Overhead hovered one of the two halves of rock, ready to crush them both. With a wail of shock, Goldpaw stared at it, and then he stared into the eyes of the leader, who had pride glowing in his rusted eyes. Goldpaw was surprised at this.

"Hahaha! You battle with a fire heart, young tom," the leader told him, looking up at him. "Well done!"

The elder cat threw the rock to the side of the arena. He got Goldpaw off of him, got to his hind legs, and fell backwards into the floor, disappearing and leaving a cat-shaped hole. Goldpaw was stunned yet relieved. He had just defeated the leader of a Clan to save his friends. He keenly awaited the sounds of the leader agreeing to let Silverpaw and Ashpaw go.

When he saw him reappear beside the guards and the prisoners on their own balcony, Goldpaw grabbed his staff between his jaws and catapulted himself out of the arena. Then he landed in front of the cats, with Silverpaw's eyes shining with pride and Ashpaw's eyes shining with relief. Even though they were covered in crystal, they looked very proud of him.

The leader mewed, "Well done, young cat. You have passed all my tasks. I will release your friends...but first, you have to answer just one question," he added slyly.

"What the hell!" Goldpaw growled, feeling cheated. He had just agreed to let his friends go! The nerve of it all! "You said if I pass your mouse-brained quizzes, you'd let them go!"

"That's true, but there isn't a point of quizzes if you don't learn anything, is there?" the leader told him, a bit of his oddness returning in his tone. Ignoring Ashpaw's frustrated hiss, he went on, "Now answer just this one question: what's my name?"

Goldpaw had absolutely no clue about what this old timer's name was and he had no answer. His ears drooped at the futility of freeing his friends.

"Judging the condition of your friends," the leader meowed as he turned around to look at the other apprentices, "you don't have any longer to wait." And with a flick of his tail, he and the guards padded away from them and out of the arena room.

As soon as the old cat was gone, Goldpaw approached his friends and he mewled, "How can I know what his name is?"

"Maybe there's a riddle. Think about the tasks you did," Silverpaw advised him.

"Hey, guys! I got it!" Ashpaw suddenly announced. When they nodded, the dark gray tabby tom explained, "He can EarthBend, correct? And he's a MudClan cat, right?" When they nodded again, he announced, "Well, his name may be...Mudstar!"

Now he was met by silence, except for a cricket chirping. Ashpaw added, "You know, he's a MudClan cat?"

The apprentices gazed at him with confused looks before Silverpaw replied, "We'll come back to that idea, but it's been helpful so far."

"Guys, focus," Goldpaw mewed to the both of them. When they stood still, partly because of the crystals, he continued his speech, "So far, I got a key for his snack box, I found his pet purple-backed gorilla, and I had to fight him."

"And what'd you learn?" Silverpaw asked him.

The Avatar Cat glanced down at his paws, thinking loudly for them to hear him. "Every task was a little more strange than I thought and..."

"Well?" Silverpaw mewed impatiently as another part of the crystal grew at her face, squishing against her cheek.

Goldpaw told the both of them, "They weren't able to make sense at all. I had to think like a different cat when I did the tests so that I could finish them." Suddenly realizing about what Rockpaw had told him once, he told the two cats, "I know what the leader's name is!"

**...**

Back at the throne room, Goldpaw faced the leader as he sat perched on his throne like a buzzard with a green cape. As the MudClan leader hunched over in his seat, Goldpaw was thinking with relief about this cat surviving for so long.

_How could I have been blind? It was him all along!_

"I managed to solve the riddle the same way I solved the tasks," Goldpaw explained to the leader. As the leader's rusted eyes widened with surprise, Goldpaw went on. "Like you said a long time ago in the past, I have to open my brain to the possibilities of the world a bit more."

The leader's eyes changed from surprise to amusement and he began to cackle happily while snorting like a warthog. Purring with delight, Goldpaw mewed, "I gotta paw it to ya, Rockpaw, but you're a mad genius!"

He dashed over to Rockstar and pressed his nose into his old friend's thin fur while the iron-gray tom murmured, "It's so good to see you again, Goldpaw. You didn't change at all! Not one bit!"

But while they embraced, they heard Silverpaw yelp, "Um, guys! Help!" and Ashpaw squeak, "Pretty please!"

They turned to see that they were almost covered completely in crystals. Silverpaw's face was almost buried in the stuff while the only thing visible for them to see Ashpaw was his jaws. This made Goldpaw scared for his friends; even though he and Rockstar were reunited, he had no idea how to free them.

Rockstar gave them an apology before making a pulling back gesture with a front foot, shattering the crystal from both WaterClan apprentices. Crystal flew all over all them and Rockstar caught a piece in his jaws.

"Genemite is also used to make rock candy!" he purred before taking an easy bite out of it as if it were a bird. "It's delicious!"

As he gulped down the candy, Silverpaw padded up to beside Goldpaw, confusion on her face. "So this loony elder is your old friend Rockpaw?"

Goldpaw nodded before thinking, _So he _did _survive after all these years! Not only that, but he also became the leader of this entire Clan! I'm proud of him!_

When the word "elder" escaped from Silverpaw's lips, Rockstar whirled onto her and rasped in an annoyed voice, "Hey, who you calling an elder?" There was a pause, then... "Yeah, you're right. I'm an elder."

"So instead of telling Goldpaw who you were, why'd you make him do all those tasks?" Ashpaw asked the MudClan leader.

"Well, for one thing, I like messing with cats' heads!" Rockstar cackled madly and snorting before going on, "And I did it for a reason."

Turning to Goldpaw, he rasped with much wisdom, "The world has changed for fourteen years while you were gone, Goldpaw, and you have a hard task up ahead, one that exceeds mine. Your duty as the Avatar Cat is to defeat Darkstar, leader of FireClan, so that balance can be restored. You have a lot to learn, and you must master all four elements of the new Clans and defeat the FireClan leader. And when you go onto the frontline against him, I hope you fight and think like a mad genius!" he added, winking at his old friend.

Goldpaw purred, dipped his head forward, and let Rockstar touch the top with his nose.

Rockstar looked up again to look at Goldpaw's friends as he meowed, "It seems to me you're in good paws, for you'll need your friends by your side to beat the crap out of FireClan." As Tobias flew down onto them, he landed on Goldpaw's head, and Rockstar added, "And Tobias will help you, too!"

"Thank you for your wisdom, Rockstar," Goldpaw replied, bowing to him again. "Thanks for all you've done for us. But before we leave," he added, recalling the hobby he and Rockstar always liked to do, "_I _have a task for you to complete!"

The smile on the iron-gray tom's face widened.

**...**

"Yep, things never change," Ashpaw mewed to Silverpaw as they watched a delivery crate fly by with Rockstar at the front at the front and Goldpaw was in the back. Both are having a blast and laughing as the air rushed by them.

"True shit," Silverpaw purred as many sounds echoed throughout the city and one of the sounds included the merchant's scream:

"MY LETTUCES!"

_To be continued..._

**...**

**AvatarCat11: I might start up Avatar Aang And The Sorcerer's Stone again. But I don't know when that'll be.**

**Katara: Are you feeling better after what happened?**

**AvatarCat11: The sooner my sister's fiancé moves out, the better.**

**Holly: You still don't want to talk about it?**

**AvatarCat11: No.**

**Kyuubi-chan: Now let's get on with this review thing, shall we? (To the readers) Anyone who reviews will get a virtual cookie jar with any cookie the reader likes. And flames will be used to make either ice cream soup or S'Mores.**

**Holly: And here's the summary for Catnapped.**

**Summary: ****Goldpaw, Silverpaw, and Ashpaw arrive in a village that has been overrun by FireClan cats. At the village, Silverpaw bonds with a local brown tabby tomcat and they realize they have something in common. (NOT A ROMANCE THING!)**

**Everyone: See ya next time! And Happy early Thanksgiving, everyone!**


	8. Catnapped

**AvatarCat11: I might be a little busy in writing some other stories, but I'll update this story too. I promise you that.**

**Katara: We have a new person coming to join up with us for today. This person is called The Veronicas Music Is My Life.**

**Holly: We visited her, and her real name is Anete. So give it up for Anete!**

**Anete: (Comes into the room) Hey, everyone! It's good working alongside you today!**

**AvatarCat11: (Shakes her hand) Same with you, Anete. Other people have come and gone with saying the disclaimer and summary of the episode. So would you like to?**

**Anete: Sure!**

**Disclaimer: The day he owns Avatar: The Last AirBender or Warrior Cats is when he takes over the world. Which is...never.**

**Summary: Goldpaw and his pack arrive in an EarthClan village that is taken over by FireBenders. Meanwhile, Silverpaw befriends an EarthClan loner, but she gets him in trouble.**

**Updating Date: November 19, 2011**

**Everyone: Enjoy!**

**...**

_Catnapped_

The three cats, Archie, and Tobias had landed in a deciduous forest where they could spend the night. It was already sunhigh, a few sunrises after they left BoulderClan, and they were packing up to go to their next place to stay. Now Goldpaw and Silverpaw were lapping up water from a nearby spring while Ashpaw had gone hunting.

The dark gray tabby tom returned with a couple of shrews in his jaws, holding them by their tails. Goldpaw looked up from drinking the water, mewing, "You're back! So what's on the menu?"

Ashpaw laid the shrews down and he replied through one mouthful of shrew, "I've got a couple of shrew species here: Dusky shrew, Water shrew, Bone shrew...that may be a real bone, and that's about it. Chow down!"

**(Author's Note: That sentence "Chow Down" is from The Lion King on Broadway. Which I DO NOT own.)**

At that, he tossed the "bone-shaped shrew" away over his shoulder and it landed at Tobias' feet. Goldpaw and Silverpaw looked at each other before they turned back to Ashpaw.

"Be serious, Ashpaw. What else did you find?" Silverpaw meowed to her brother. She knew that shrews didn't fill bellies up that much; instead, it would just make their mouths feel dry. But some cats would eat shrews if they developed a taste for them.

While Ashpaw sniffed the air with his jaws open to catch a scent, Tobias picked up the bone-like object and began to gulp it down. Angrily, he puked it out, snatched the thing up with his beak, and slammed it down hard onto a nearby rock.

Suddenly, as the thing fell onto the rock, a huge rumble in the ground disrupted the calm nature of the forest. Several gray birds were flying away from the trees, trying to get away from this loud noise. But Tobias wasn't interested in the birds; instead, he jumped backwards from the rock and the thing.

Ashpaw had looked up and hissed with shock, "What the hell was that?"

Silverpaw watched as Tobias gave the dark gray apprentice a befuddled stare before he turned back to the thing on the ground. He blinked twice before picking up the thing and dropping it slightly onto the rock. Just like before, another quake echoed through the ground and startled Tobias, although it was rather a sound than a real rumble in the earth.

Goldpaw sniffed the air before telling the other cats, "That sound must be from that way." He pointed his tail towards the deeper part of the forest as he spoke.

He kinked his tail for Silverpaw to follow him and the two apprentices were heading off to the sound as they ignored Ashpaw yowling, "Guys, we gotta run _away _from big noises, not _toward _them!"

**...**

Several minutes later, the three cats arrived at a fallen tree and they peered over it to see what was happening.

A brown tabby cat, very much a tom, had cornered a rabbit between two rocks in a dried-up river bed, except the stream in there was the same one that they were at, only in a different place. The rabbit squealed before leaping away from the tabby cat, but the tom whirled his head around at the fleeing animal and one of the rocks flew toward the rabbit, hitting it hard in the belly and stunning the rabbit before the brown tabby tom killed it with one bite to the back of the neck.

"He's an EarthBender!" Silverpaw mewed, excitement filling her voice. She hadn't yet seen any other EarthBender since she and Ashpaw met Rockstar, leader of MudClan and Goldpaw's old friend from years ago.

"Well, let's not sit here like a bunch of geese. Let's go meet him!" Goldpaw told her as he leaped to the top of the log.

But Ashpaw pulled him back down by the tail with his teeth and hissed silently, "How about we approach him with caution? He could be dangerous."

But one cat hadn't listened to him. Silverpaw had leaped over the log while ignoring her brother's warning by running way out into the river bed to address the young EarthBender. She paid no heed to the exasperated look on Ashpaw's face while she padded forward to greet the loner.

She called happily, "Good afternoon, EarthBender! I'm Silverpaw! I'm a WaterClan apprentice! What's your name?"

The young EarthBender turned to face her with surprise. For some odd reason, Silverpaw saw fear in his green eyes while her cheerful smile slowly faded away. He quickly picked the rabbit up in his jaws and sprinted back down the river bed. As he ran off, he EarthBended a mound of rocks into the riverbed, thus blocking all means of pursuit.

Goldpaw finally pounced forward and he called to the tabby, "Good meeting you!" while waving his tail in the direction where he disappeared.

Silverpaw sagged her shoulders a little as she sat down and she muttered, "All we wanted to do is say 'hi' and he bolted like he was chased by a Diatryma. What's he scared about?"

"He ran off somewhere and that means that there could possibly be a town nearby," Ashpaw meowed. He wasn't really listening to his sister's complaint.

Goldpaw added, "So that town could have a market nearby!"

"Yes!" Silverpaw got up and pranced a little on the spot. "That means no more shrews for dinner!" She and Goldpaw raced off together in the direction where the tabby ran off as they climbed the wall of rocks.

Ashpaw snorted and he growled, "I worked my ass off for those shrews!" Tobias landed beside him and made a cooing sound. Ashpaw responded, "Yeah, they're not that good anyways..."

**...**

In the village nearby, which was a walled EarthClan village in a steep valley_,_ the three apprentices were checking the markets nearby. Goldpaw managed to grab a headband from there while giving the merchant there a shrew, making Ashpaw glance at him and Goldpaw just gave a little laugh. This was maybe to hide his identity, since some FireClan cats have taken over a few EarthClan towns.

Meanwhile, Silverpaw was just scanning the area when she noticed a familiar brown tabby pelt dragging a rabbit enter a nearby building. It was the same tom that they saw in the river bed when he used EarthBending to hunt.

"Hey, you!"

Silverpaw got there just in time to see the tabby cat step inside and lay the rabbit at the paws of an old tabby she-cat, who was supposedly his mother.

"Hey, Mom," the tabby tom was mewing. "Sorry about being late."

"But, Brindle, where have you been?" the tabby she-cat was meowing with genuine worry in her elderly voice. "Never mind that now; it's time to get some chores done."

_She reminds me of Grandma, _Silverpaw guessed with a hint of amusement. Back in WaterClan, Rainbreeze would often call all the cats together to help out with the chores in the Clan. She then pushed open the door and entered the building, framed in sunlight pouring in behind her and splashing her silver fur with rays of golden.

"I remember you," she told the tabby tomcat. "You're that tomcat. Why'd you flee when you saw us?"

Brindle cast a leaf-green look toward the back room as he stammered, "Uh, I think you got the wrong cat. I'm not him."

"Yes you are," Goldpaw meowed as he and Ashpaw entered the building. "We saw you using EarthBending to hunt that rabbit."

The word "EarthBending" made the frail she-cat hiss with fear and close the door and windows. "HOW did you catch that rabbit?" Her hiss was filled with fear and suspicion.

"They're mouse-brained, Mom. Just look at how they groom themselves!" Brindle gulped, giving the three apprentices a hard stare. Silverpaw lowered her gaze; this cat seemed to be around a year and a half old and he seemed to look like a strong fighter. But she decided to lick her paw and smooth it over her ear the normal way, and the other two toms followed suit.

"Brindle, can't you see that it's too dangerous?" the tabby she-cat mewled to him with her fear-scent threatening to drown all three cats. "You remember what happens to you if you get caught EarthBending!"

But there was no time to reply as a heavy knock on the door was heard and a yowl echoed, "Open up in there! Don't make us use force!"

Ashpaw went to the window and opened it up a little. He quickly closed them and he mewed, "FireClan warriors are out there! Act natural! Not like that!" he snapped at Goldpaw, who was raising his tail to spray his mark. "I mean do shopping or stuff like that!"

Brindle's mother opened the door and a brown-&-white FireClan warrior entered the building. The warriors came in to see Goldpaw and his friends caught in the midst of some very unconvincing "normal" poses.

Goldpaw was sitting on the top of a barrel with a couple of fish in there, Silverpaw was trying out a food sample and her cheeks were full of something that looked like a mouse tart, and Ashpaw was just whistling as he studied the atlases. The barrel, the one that Goldpaw was sitting on, wobbled a little and he fell into the barrel with the fish tickling his fur.

"What do you want now?" Brindle's mother asked the FireClan cats, her eyes betraying a little bit of defiance. "I've paid you already last quarter-moon."

"The tax had already doubled today, ma'am," one of the warriors, a big brown cat, meowed. "There shouldn't be an accident here, should there?"

The warrior produced a fireball in his paw pads and smiled at the small group. Silverpaw swallowed her sample of mouse tart as everyone took a step back from the warrior. "You know, fire can be hard to control if you're not careful," he added with a slier smile.

The glare that Brindle's mother gave the FireClan cat melted from defiance to fear and resignation. She gave a sigh and padded to a small chest on the table, leaping onto the table to open it. She opened it to reveal a few miserable coins. She took most of them out and gave them to the warrior while Brindle's lips were peeled back into a snarl of hatred as he glared at him through hostile eyes. The warrior took one look at the coins and dumped the small ones on the ground.

"The copper ones are yours," he told the old tabby as he padded out of the store with the bag of coins in his jaws. The rest of the cats stared after him, looking ticked off at that scene. Silverpaw couldn't believe that anyone would treat a single mother with one kit like that; that was just too cowardly.

As Brindle's mother picked up the pitiful copper coins, Ashpaw mewed with a hint of sarcasm, "Such a nice cat. So how long has FireClan lived here?" he asked Brindle's mother.

"Since last year," she replied, her amber eyes looking very troubled. "Darkstar has been using our coal from the coal mines to fuel his warships."

"Yeah, but they're nothing but thieves. Those bastards steal from us everyday," Brindle snarled, his eyes still betraying hatred toward FireClan. "Because of that, everyone's too cowardly to stop them!"

Immediately, his mother closed his mouth with her tail and she rebuked him, "Brindle! How could you say things like this?"

"But he's right," Silverpaw meowed, stepping forward. She really wanted to help this family, no matter what the others say. "He's an EarthBender. He can be a great help to his village."

"EarthBending is forbidden in this village," the old tabby queen spat bitterly. "It's caused too much pain and suffering for us here. Brindle should not use his Bending anymore!"

Silverpaw was shocked; how could she say something like this? It would be like telling a dolphin to not swim in the ocean.

So she persisted, "Why would you say something like that? Brindle has a great talent, and telling him to not use EarthBending will be like telling me or Goldpaw to not use WaterBending or AirBending. It's who we are: we're Bending cats."

Brindle's mother turned away from the young silver she-cat and rasped miserably, "You don't understand."

"Of course I do," Silverpaw told her as she tried to comfort her. "Brindle can help you get your village back from FireClan. What will FireClan do when he tries to help, anyways?"

"They'll take him prisoner like they did to his father!" Brindle's mother wailed, wrenching away from Silverpaw.

Silverpaw didn't know what to do, but Ashpaw had a certain look on his face that he wasn't telling her or Goldpaw. And Goldpaw just gave her a confused look as if he had fallen out of his nest. There had to be some way to help this pitiful she-cat and her only kitten.

**...**

The scene faded to a view of the surrounding hillsides. It is late afternoon. The view went to the right to reveal the outbuildings of a farm. Brindle and the pack padded inside to see the inside of the barn as the late afternoon sun shed its light into the building.

"My mother told me that you guys can sleep in here if you like," Brindle told them as he faced the Clan apprentices. "But she also said that you should leave in the morning."

Goldpaw nodded and he mewed, "I'll make sure that Archie doesn't eat your chickens. And thank you." At the sound of chickens, Archie looked up from one chicken that he was chewing on and Goldpaw had to scold the dragon for eating someone else's prey without permission.

The brown tabby loner nodded and told Silverpaw, "How about we take a walk in the woods?"

Silverpaw nodded and followed Brindle to the outside of the barn.

**...**

As they walked, Silverpaw mewed to Brindle, "Sorry about what I told your mother. I didn't know about your dad."

To her surprise, the tabby tom nodded and meowed, "Ah, that's okay. You know, it's strange with what you told her at the store. You reminded me of him."

"Thanks," Silverpaw mewed with a hint of pink on her cheeks.

It was flattering with what Brindle told her; she felt her heart beat a little when she talked to him. But she shook herself mentally and snapped to herself, _Stop it, you moonstruck rabbit! He can't be a potential mate! He has too much to worry about! Besides, _she thought on, _I don't think he'd be my true mate, anyways._

Anyways, Brindle meowed, "You're welcome. Anyways, my father, Brownstone, was a very brave cat. When FireClan attacked our community, he and a couple of other EarthBending cats fought back at them; even though they were outnumbered, they fought like LionClan to save us."

Silverpaw saw that Brindle really looked up to his father, and she felt sadness creep up inside of her. Her father, Emberstar, had left to fight in the War just when she became an apprentice, so she had only her grandmother to look up to. But she couldn't think of herself while she talked to the brown tabby tom, whose pelt was glowing to russet-golden as the sun hit him.

She mewed to him, "He seems to be a great warrior."

"Yeah," Brindle replied, looking down when they have now walked up onto the crest of a small hill that overlooked the surrounding scenery. "After the attack, they attacked my father, captured him and his other companions, and took them away as prisoners. We never saw them again ever since then."

"So you hid your EarthBending because of that?" Silverpaw asked him.

Brindle nodded and mewed with sorrow in his voice, "Yep." When he spoke, he sat down and begun twirling some small stones with his forepaw while he spoke about his father. "I feel close to my father only when I practice my EarthBending. He was a great mentor." When he finished speaking, he turned the stones to sand, which fell through his front toes on his front paw.

Memories of her mother seeped in Silverpaw's heart like poison. So, deciding to cheer him up, she padded up to Brindle and sat next to him. She pointed to her fox-fang necklace with her tail and began to speak.

"You see this necklace, right?" she asked him. Brindle nodded, so Silverpaw went on, "Well, my mother gave it to me when I was a kit."

"It's a very beautiful necklace. Especially with the fox fang," Brindle told her with admiration in his voice.

Silverpaw's face turned pink when she heard his comment. Ignoring the thought to rub her face to his, she meowed, "Since my mother was killed by FireClan, this necklace is my only treasure, for it's all I left of her."

Brindle touched her ear with his muzzle as he asked her, "It's not enough, huh?"

"No."

**...**

Silverpaw and Brindle had cheered up as they carried their prey back to their place. She knew that Brindle wasn't going to use EarthBending for hunting this time, although he seemed to be a little clumsy when he missed catching a rabbit. So he caught a mouse instead while Silverpaw caught a trout. She had offered to show him a few hunting tricks that EarthClan would use, so Brindle tried, but he got the mouse instead.

As they padded down a path towards an open mine entrance some way ahead, a boom was heard, and rocks and dust came out of the mine entrance. The cry of an old tomcat, probably hurt, could be heard.

"Help me!" the voice yowled as a loud roar echoed across the area.

"Oh, shit! The mine must've collapsed!" Brindle mewed as he raced ahead of Silverpaw to the noise.

"And that sounded like a badger attacking him!" Silverpaw added as she ran after him to follow the source of the yowl.

They both rushed to the mine, and when they got to the blocked up mine entrance, the old gray cat had almost been buried by the cave in. And there was indeed a badger, whose jaws were closed around the tom's throat despite also almost being buried by the rocks.

"Help me..." he rasped as the badger's teeth started closing on his throat. Silverpaw was horrified to see blood well up from the wound on there.

The ground shook a bit, and more earth threatened to fall on and crush the old cat and the badger. While Brindle tried to prevent any more earth from falling by bracing the large mine entrance, Silverpaw tried to get the old tom free by grabbing his scruff and tried pulling him out of the earth and the badger's teeth. But they couldn't move one bit as more earth started falling.

As she struggled while the badger held on tight, Silverpaw let go, gasped for air, and panted to Brindle, "It's not working, Brindle. We need to get help."

But Brindle growled, "We don't have any time for that! Pull harder!" he added with pain as the badger let go of the elder's throat and grabbed his hind leg.

Suddenly, Silverpaw got an idea. An awful idea. The silver she-cat had a wonderfully awful idea. Brindle could get into trouble for this, but this was the only way to save the elder and the badger.

**(Author's Note: You can tell I got that from the Grinch.)**

"You can do something about this," she told him as his leg bled from the biting of the badger.

She saw Brindle's green eyes narrow with pain; he seemed to know what she was talking about. He huffed, "I would, but I can't."

Silverpaw pleaded with him, "You have to, Brindle! Please! There's no other cat around here to see you EarthBend! It's the only way!"

Hesitancy controlled Brindle's face for a few moments, but he jerked his leg out of the badger's jaws, moved in front of the old cat, and turned to look back into the main entrance. Silverpaw was relieved to see him going along with her plan; she knew he didn't like it, but there was no other way.

The brown tabby loner concentrated and, with a quick move of his front paws and hind feet, he pushed the obstruction of earth and stone back deep into the mine, freeing the old cat. The two younger cats helped get up while the badger fled from them, forgetting about its lost prey. As the badger looked over its shoulder, Silverpaw saw a flash of gratitude on its face before it lumbered off into the forest.

Silverpaw clapped her paw onto Brindle's shoulder, meowing with pride, "Well done, Brindle! You did it!"

**...**

Night has already arrived. Tobias was sitting in the window of the outbuilding on Brindle's farm that the pack was sleeping in. They were getting ready for bed and in their nests made of hay and bits of bracken. Goldpaw lay over the top of Archie while he stared at Silverpaw when she spoke.

"That was so brave of Brindle to free the elder and the badger," Silverpaw told her friends when she circled around in her nest.

Goldpaw nodded to her and mewed, "Maybe that badger might convert. And look: you inspired Brindle to EarthBend again."

Silverpaw purred her thanks to Goldpaw. What the golden Avatar Cat told her was true: Brindle seemed to be brave while he EarthBended the earth away from the old cat and the badger. She hoped the elder wouldn't rat them out for what they did.

"Time for bed," Ashpaw meowed as he circled around in his nest. "We gotta get to sleep. We leave at dawn."

Silverpaw whined, "Aw, come on, Ashpaw! Why the hell should we leave then? Can't we sleep in for a little bit?"

Ashpaw shook his head irritably and he spat, "No way! Didn't you hear that this town is populated by FireClan? And Goldpaw, if they find out that you're the Avatar Cat and they find you here, we'll have to eat charcoal for breakfast tomorrow!"

"Well, I'd rather eat charcoal than eat shrews," Silverpaw told her brother with a sly look on her smiling face.

"Good night!" Ashpaw growled as he tossed over.

Goldpaw and Silverpaw purred at this before Goldpaw blew out the candle-lamp with his AirBending.

**...**

The night sky was silent, showing the full moon. Clearly some time passes before the next scene as the three apprentices slept on, but it was still night. FireClan warriors padded along a path leading to Brindle's farm. Brindle could see them from his window. _Great StarClan, what do they want now? _he begged the warrior ancestors.

He wasn't a Clan cat; he was a loner, yet after hearing about the Clans from Silverpaw, he put his faith into StarClan more. He turned around to see lamps on polls swing back and forth as the warriors marched on. These must be FireClan cats, Brindle thought, making him fluff his fur in anger.

With a sigh, he pushed open the door. In front of him were indeed the FireClan warriors. The warrior who extorted the money from the previous day had led the column onwards. He wore a helmet with horns on either side of his head. All of a sudden, as Brindle gasped with surprise, the old gray cat that Brindle and Silverpaw had rescued from earlier on that day stalked forward and pointed his paw at Brindle.

"That's him! That's the EarthBender I told you about!" he spat.

"Young tomcat, you're under arrest for illegal EarthBending," the head warrior sneered at Brindle as two warriors grabbed the brown tabby tom by the throat and dragged him away.

All of a sudden, Brindle's mother burst out of the house, wailing, "Please don't take him away! He's all I have left!"

"He was arrested for illegal EarthBending," another FireBender told Brindle's mother. "Now let's go, you!" he snarled at Brindle as he was shoved away.

"Mom, it'll be okay," Brindle told her calmly, although he was still shocked at seeing the old cat's betrayal. "I'll be okay."

But Brindle couldn't forget the pained look in his mother's green eyes as he was snapped into a chained collar. Then he was led away on a leash by a FireClan cat onto a ship that awaited him in the harbor. He hoped things would go okay from here on out.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

As the sun rose above the pine trees the next morning, Silverpaw padded outside the barn and stretched her legs. She was ready to start the day and help get some water and prey before they leave Brindle and his mother all by themselves. She felt bad about leaving them, but there was nothing she could do.

She padded up to a water pump near a pond to get some water. She had already picked up a bucket, which she placed under the spout. Rather than wok the pump, however, she instead gracefully WaterBended some water out of the pump and into the bucket. She picked up the bucket and, as she turned to go back to her friends, Silverpaw forgot something.

The silver she-cat turned back around, placed the bucket down, and thrust her paw into the water. She pulled it back up and there was a struggling fish hooked to her claws.

As she turned around with the fish in her jaws, Silverpaw noticed Brindle's mother standing on a boulder. Silverpaw saw the old tabby turn around with tears in her amber eyes, since she had been crying silently.

Silverpaw gasped with shock through her mouthful of fish, her eyes widening with realization. Anyone could see the shock in her beautiful blue eyes and the fact that Brindle was captured; the old cat had probably told on him. She dropped the caught fish onto the ground and raced back to the barn, where Goldpaw and Ashpaw were waiting for her and packing up.

As she approached them, she was foaming at the mouth with worry and wailed, "It's the FireClan cats! They took Brindle away!"

"Huh?" Goldpaw responded, shock in his gray eyes and his tail twitched with horror.

"The old cat ratted us out to FireClan and they took Brindle!" Silverpaw yowled, tearing at the floor of the barn with her claws. She wailed, "This is all my fault! I was the one who told him to EarthBend!" She clawed the ground more and wailed some more, "Shit! Shit!"

Ashpaw padded to his sister, embraced her, and murmured, "Don't worry, Silverpaw; it's not all your fault. There was nothing else that you could do." When Silverpaw began breathing hard to catch her breath, Ashpaw went on as calmly and gently as he could, "Now slow down and just tell us what happened."

Seeing the genuine concern in her brother's pale blue gaze, Silverpaw calmed down and told him and Goldpaw, "Brindle's mother told me the FireClan cats took him at nightfall."

Ashpaw let go of his sister and, to her disappointment, he meowed, "Well, there's nothing we can do now. He'll probably be long gone by now."

Suddenly, Silverpaw thought of an idea. She remembered hearing stories about how one of the four ancient Clans, ThunderClan, had led a pack of vicious dogs away from their camp and into a gorge, leaving rabbits behind. That was their way of leading enemies to their demise and save their Clan. If only they could do the same thing, except for earth...

"Actually, we won't have to track him down. FireClan will lead me to Brindle," she told the two tomcats.

"How in Silverpelt are you gonna do that?" Goldpaw mewed as he padded toward them and sat down. He looked very interested in whatever she had to say these days.

Silverpaw closed her eyes and began to think. When she was done, remembering the EarthBending tom and the traitorous cat, she opened her eyes and she meowed, her voice hardened with resolve, "FireClan will arrest me for EarthBending."

What she told them made Ashpaw and Goldpaw glance at her with worry and they turned to each other with the same look in their eyes. Silverpaw wasn't entirely sure if this plan would work, but there was no other way. She would have to EarthBend.

**...**

Silverpaw felt proud of herself and her friends as she and Ashpaw shoved a boulder on top of an air gate. But she wished Goldpaw would learn EarthBending soon so that he would have moved the boulder over to their spot. She also knew that Air and Earth are opposite elements, just like Water and Fire.

When the two siblings finished pushing the boulder, Ashpaw leaped to the top and he told his sister, "Silverpaw, I thought that you were turning insane, but this actually could work! There are ventilation shafts all around these mines and the only thing Goldpaw needs to do is to send an air current from that vent to this one right where we're at. The boulder will levitate and...presto!" he added, throwing his front paws into the air. "False EarthBending!"

He then laid down on top of the rock in a self-satisfied manner while Silverpaw snorted with a none-too-pleased look on her face. But she did look around to the direction where Goldpaw was at and it was another boulder.

"Goldpaw, did you get it all yet?" she called to him.

She looked around the boulder to see that Goldpaw wasn't actually paying attention at all. He was busy trying to bat at a passing butterfly and tossing a dead vole at it. Silverpaw gave a sigh at the vole.

Rule four in the Warrior Code forbade warriors to play with their food. StarClan gave them food and they could take it away; Lilystar of ShadowClan proved that well when an owl snatched a mouse away.

"Yeah, I remember," he mewed absently while Tobias watched the vole with a look in his oddly green eyes.

"So you DO remember what to do?" Ashpaw added, padding up to them.

The young Avatar Cat nodded to Ashpaw and meowed, "Yeah, I know. Just relax, Ashpaw. It won't be fun if you explain the whole plan."

Ashpaw gave him an annoyed look as he retorted, "Tell me this: do you think getting walled by FireClan warriors will be fun? What the hell do you mean?"

"Exactly!" he told him as he continued to pounce after the butterfly. As Tobias snatched up the vole, Goldpaw leapt back to them and mewed, "That's why it's fun!"

Immediately, Silverpaw saw Ashpaw lift his nose into the air and she saw that he was sniffing the air; he must have picked up a scent. He closed his mouth and told them, "FireClan warriors! Places, everyone!"

All three cats scattered and Goldpaw leaped to behind his hiding place which was a boulder. Tobias fluttered to behind the boulder that Silverpaw and Ashpaw had rolled to the top of the air vent. The two WaterClan cats placed themselves in parts of the terrain as the warriors padded out into the scene.

Once three warriors padded in sight, Silverpaw pretended to march in one direction at Ashpaw while Ashpaw marched in the other direction toward Silverpaw. And their timing was right on the spot because they bumped each other and pretended to hiss at one another, their fur bristling and their teeth bared. This was only pretend, but they looked so furious at one another that the warriors looked fooled already.

"Hey, you!" Ashpaw growled in a pretend angry voice. "Get the hell out of the way, you runt!"

"How dare you call me a 'runt', you giant-eyed bastard!" Silverpaw growled back, also in a pretend angry voice.

As the warriors watched with confusion, Ashpaw hissed, "What did you just say?"

Silverpaw hissed back, her back arched, "I called you a giant-eyed bastard! I mean, look at those things!" she added, placing two chicken eggs above her eyes to imitate large eyes. "Do flocks of birds use them for talon-sharpeners?"

"Back off, you!" Ashpaw snarled, stepping a pawstep forward. When he did so, he quietly added to Silverpaw, "Seriously, just back off. Just a little."

"No, I won't back off!" Silverpaw growled, her claws unsheathing just a little. She knew they were pretending to growl at each other, but it seemed fun to growl at another cat. "I bet owls flock together and laugh at your giant eyes!"

Finally, Ashpaw hissed, "All right, that's it! You're going down, bitch!"

Silverpaw leapt forth and hissed, "I'll show you who's top cat! With my...EarthBending style!" she yowled, leaping forward and getting into an EarthBending stance. Her fur was still bristling and her claws were still unsheathed.

But nothing happened; the FireClan cats were still looking confused. She glanced around the boulder to see Goldpaw still playing with the butterfly.

With a real angry sigh, Silverpaw roared into the vent, "I SAID, _EARTHBENDING STYLE!"_

The silver she-cat heard Goldpaw's yowl of surprise as he finally reacted. Soon enough, there was air rushing up the vent as it raised the rock to reveal Tobias behind it as he spread his wings wide. When this happened, the FireClan warriors looked up at the rising air with a mixture of fear and awe.

One of the warriors, a black tom with yellow eyes, pointed his tail to the hawk and mewed with surprise to his comrades, "Hey, look at that hawk! It's EarthBending!"

_Are they that stupid? _Silverpaw thought angrily as she shook her head.

As the cats continued to watch the hawk "EarthBending", Ashpaw whirled around to hiss at the warriors, "What are you, stupid? She's the one who's EarthBending!"

At that, the air stopped coming to the rock and it fell with a thud. Feeling they wouldn't need it anymore, Silverpaw flicked her tail downwards and, to her amazement, the rock fell down. She knew they were just pretending to use EarthBending, but this was very unexpected.

_Did I just do REAL EarthBending?_

Silverpaw silently thanked StarClan that the toms finally saw sense as they stalked toward her. But she remained strong and tried hard not to get scared as Ashpaw pinned her to the ground with pretending force. His claws were fully retracted and he wasn't fully forcing her to the ground on his own accord.

"I'll pin her down until you get her!" the dark gray tabby tom told the warriors as he held her down. To his sister, he quietly bent down to her and, lowering his voice, whispered, "Silverpaw, there are twelve hours left until you rescue Brindle. We'll be right behind you; we'll pick you up then."

One of the other warriors, a tabby tom, stood Silverpaw to her paws, shook her a little as if she was a chew toy, and dragged her away by the scruff. She looked over her shoulder weakly to see Goldpaw and Ashpaw looking back at her with concern in their eyes. Tobias landed on Goldpaw's shoulders and looked at Ashpaw.

The dark gray tabby looked at the hawk and chided him, "Don't look at me like that, Tobias! You're the one with the big eyes!"

**...**

"_Goldpaw, don't worry. Silverpaw will be okay. She knows what she's doing."_

Ashpaw's voice echoed into Silverpaw's ears as they flattened a little with sadness. She had been forced into a brace by FireClan cats over her silver pelt. She was in a wheeled carriage with other prisoners being taken to the prison ship in the harbor. The young silver she-cat could have sworn she saw Goldpaw and Ashpaw in disguises, watching out for her.

As they arrived toward the prison ship, Silverpaw could see it for the first time. It looked huge, dark, industrial, and foreboding. In the background, a sunset with the color of blood cast its last rays of light over the complex. Silverpaw gulped as she saw Archie flying away from the ship at a good distance and she knew that her friends will do their best to keep up with the dark ship.

The sun was now really setting as the prisoners lined up at the dock. When they lined up, the prison warden, a large black-and-tan tom with a short tail**, **addressed the new arrivals.

"It is my pleasure, EarthBenders," he was meowing in a deep French accent, "to give you a warm welcome to my humble shipyard, for I am the Warden." He paced up and down the deck, stating, "Think of yourselves as my honest guests, not my prisoners. I in hope hope I will be your noble caring host. If you want to succeed, you will have to abide to-"

Suddenly, a big brown cat began coughing and all the cats whirled around to see him get caught. Immediately, the Warden's amber eyes went from pompous to anger. He stepped away from the prisoners and pounced at the brown cat, teeth sinking into his flesh and his claws scratching his fur. The Warden flicked his tail to several warriors, who glared down at the bleeding cat.

Angrily, the Warden snapped at him, "What kind of guest are you, to interrupt your host while he talks?" To his warriors, he snarled, "Take him below deck! A quarter moon of isolation should put him in his place," he added, suddenly whipping around to stick his face in front of Silverpaw, who scented coal and metal on this cat.

She snarled at him as the Warden meowed to everyone while leering at her, "Just treat me with courtesy and respect and we will get along like friends should. EarthBenders, this ship is nothing BUT metal; there aren't any rocks or soil to escape with, so any defying thoughts will be crushed forever. Good day to you all."

When he was finished with his stupid speech, he turned around and padded away as the prisoners were led onto the ship by a FireClan cat.

**...**

The rig where the prisoners would stay at was awful: it was an open area on the rig where hopeless and forlorn-looking prisoners roamed around. Silverpaw was shoved in the behind by a warrior into the rig. But she didn't feel frightened now; however, she did feel violated.

_I can get inside without you touching my butt, thank you very much! _she thought angrily.

As she padded around and saw many cats looking very helpless, Silverpaw's heart wrenched with pity at the sight of their lost faces. These cats looked as if they had been defeated in battle, and if they were, it came out wrong. Now Silverpaw wished she could help all of these cats escape. But remembering her mission, she forced her paws to move on.

Quickly, she saw a brown tabby tom approach her. Since Silverpaw was here on this ship, there were no easy greetings until she would find Brindle and get out. For now, this cat could be an enemy.

She immediately unsheathed her claws until she heard him say, "Silverpaw? Is that you? What're you doing here?"

She gave a yowl of joy and the two cats embraced. She had finally found him and her mission was over. She now decided that the time to rebel had come in time.

"I was responsible of you getting caught," she mewed to him, looking him in the eye. "So I got myself arrested. But it's the only way to get you out," she added, shuffling her paws.

Once again, she heard a little voice hiss, _What did I tell you? Don't think of him as your mate! He's just your friend! Get him out of here!_

Brindle backed away, smiled at her, and meowed, "Well, Silverpaw. You got spunk; I respect that." He kinked his tail to her and added, "I've got someone here for you to meet. I told you about him before."

_His father? He's here?_

As Brindle led her to a group of cats nearby, she saw Brindle's father. He was a huge dark brown tabby tom with scars on his chest, large muscles, a torn ear and nose, and amber eyes. He looked very remotely like Brindle, except for his amber eyes and large muscles.

_Brownstone._

For a moment or two, he looked briefly like Tigerstar, one of the most evil cats Silverpaw had ever heard of. But she shook the thought away as quickly as a horse could swat a fly. She went with Brindle up to the dark tabby tom, certain that he was full of wisdom and power.

"Hey, Dad." Brindle's mew made the large dark tabby look up from eating from a bowl as he looked up at his son with wonder. "Silverpaw, this is my father, Brownstone. Dad, this is my newest friend, Silverpaw. She's a WaterClan apprentice."

"It's an honor to meet you," Silverpaw replied, giving Brownstone a respectful nod.

The look Brownstone gave to Silverpaw was gentle as he carefully nudged the bowl to her. He mewed in a very deep voice, "Greetings, Silverpaw. Have some supper."

Silverpaw looked into the bowl and it looked like a mixture of sea-sponge and rat soup mixed. She hissed with disgust at the smell, for it was very strong and awful.

"Aw, come on, now!" Brownstone chuckled good-naturally. "It's not that bad."

So Silverpaw sat down and lapped some of it onto her tongue. An awful taste rang on her taste buds like a screeching cat; it tasted like a mixture of mud and crowfood. This was the worst thing she ever ate, although that didn't include the time Ashpaw dared her to eat a rotting clam and it was very disgusting.

Apparently seeing the disgusted look on her face, Brownstone smiled ruefully at her as he added sheepishly, "Actually, it does taste rather bad itself!"

Just then, a gray tabby cat approached Brownstone, reporting to him, "Brownstone, I got a report from some of the prisoners. They're complaining about not enough bracken for their nests."

"Okay, I'll take this to the guards," Brownstone replied, clapping his large paw onto the tom's shoulder. "Also, make sure the elders get their fresh-kill and more bracken. Meanwhile, we'll all have to wait till newleaf comes around."

The commands he gave sounded much like a Clan leader like Emberstar or Rockstar. They were even like the commands of a certain compassionate ThunderClan leader from many moons ago. Silverpaw wondered if Brownstone had been a leader himself and she wondered if he had nine lives. But it would be too rude to ask him because he didn't look like a Clan cat. So she decided to put her plan into words.

As the tom padded away, she mewed to Brownstone, "Excuse me, sir, but do you have an escape plan?"

"Pardon?" Brownstone's eyes weren't filled with hostility, but his voice was filled with suspicion.

Silverpaw pressed on, "Well...what's the plan to escape from this rig? Revolt? Disruption?"

To her irritation, the large dark brown tabby tom shook his huge head slowly and sadly. "The only plan we have is to survive and wait for the War to finish. We have to hope that some cats from here can escape and forget about this damn War."

"How could you say that?" Silverpaw hissed with surprise. Were they giving up already? They couldn't turn their backs on the War! "Are you saying you're giving up now?"

"Silverpaw," Brownstone meowed, gazing down at her, "I value your bravery, and your youth I envy, but there are too many cats' live at stake here." Some cats turned around when they heard the word stake; they wrongly thought he said "steak." "The Warden is a harsh and cruel cat; he won't take rebellion lying down. We are powerless. I'm very sorry, young one."

Her fur bristled at the lack of hope in the once-proud warrior's voice. They weren't going to take this ruthlessness lying down like this! "Oh, yeah? We'll see about that!" she hissed with grim resolve as she got up and padded away from Brownstone, Brindle, and the group of cats.

She had picked up a spoon and the lid of a pot from a cat-less corner and stood on her haunches on a platform. The silver she-cat banged the lid of the pot with her spoon loudly a few times to get everyone's attention. As every cat turned to face her (even the Warden, who was patrolling on one of the catwalks above), Silverpaw summoned up all of the strength she could gather and she yowled with the authority of a leader:

"Every EarthClan Bender here, listen to me! You might not know me, but I know all about you. In our WaterClan, the kits are told stories of the courageous EarthClan and their great warriors and Benders. Some of you cats think you're powerless against FireClan. It's true they took your Bending away, but they'll never take away your courage! Your courage is the one that they fear and it goes down much deeper than any hole a meerkat can dig or any ocean a whale can dive! Your hearts build up the strength to make you who you really are and they'll never erode away even when there aren't any rocks or stones! Today is now the time to fight back! The Avatar Cat has returned to our world! So remember your courage, EarthClan cats, and let us fight for your freedom! Are you in or are you out?"

It was a very powerful speech, Silverpaw realized as her face etched with determination. But her determination began to fail when no cat stood up to answer her call: the Call of the Wild in their blood. She was crushed. And she didn't notice the Warden sneer down at her through scornful amber eyes.

**...**

Night has fallen over the ship and Silverpaw was already asleep in her nest of prickly bracken when she preferred moss. After waking up from a nightmare of blood and cries of EarthBending cats in pain, she woke up, feeling thirsty and hoping to get a drink. She barely got up when she noticed a shadow standing above her.

Silverpaw arched her back, ruffled her fur to make her look bigger, and almost yowled a warning when the shadow's tail laid itself onto her lips. It came closer as Goldpaw stepped out from the darkness, wiping his paw over his muzzle to remind her to remain quiet. He kinked his tail over towards the water, which meant that Silverpaw would have to follow.

The golden Avatar Cat padded over to the side of the ship with Silverpaw behind him and there was Archie flying beside the ship with Ashpaw on his head. As Goldpaw leaped off the ship and onto Archie, Ashpaw stepped forward.

"Your time's up, Silverpaw. Now where's Brindle?" he whispered to her. "We have to leave!"

"You guys go ahead. I can't. Not yet, anyways," she added, looking over her shoulder at the rig with the lighthouse lamp. It was towering above the frail forms of the prisoners.

"What are you saying? We don't have much time left and guards are on their way here! Now get on!" Ashpaw hissed, his blue eyes narrowed angrily.

However, Goldpaw waved his tail for Ashpaw to calm down and mewed to Silverpaw, "What's wrong, Silverpaw? _Why _won't you leave yet?"

Giving her brother a glare through eyes full of resolve, she mewed to the toms, "I'm not leaving these cats. I'm not giving up on them."

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

"What the hell do you mean you won't leave?"

Goldpaw and Ashpaw had already leaped on board to join Silverpaw in their hiding spot. His pale blue eyes were filled with agitation as he heard his sister refuse to leave the hellhole.

"I already told you, Ashpaw. We need to help these cats escape," Silverpaw repeated stubbornly. She couldn't let her brother stalk away from their chance to help the poor prisoners; it was either stick together and succeed, or split up and fail or be killed. "There has to be some way we can free them."

Goldpaw looked up from his tail curled around his paws and mewed to Ashpaw, "Ashpaw, she might be right. There has to be a way to give them a lending paw. What do you say?"

Ashpaw shook his head with vexation. "I say you two are crazier than a fox in a fit! This is our last chance, Silverpaw," he added urgently as they ducked to avoid the lighthouse's light. "We have to pick up Brindle and leave! Now!"

"No, Ashpaw. I'm staying," Silverpaw snarled, taking a step backwards.

Her brother gave a hefty sigh and muttered, "Sometimes, I get freaked out when this attitude of yours kicks in." He stopped complaining when another lighthouse light came very close to them. "Everyone duck!" he growled as they ducked below the steel crates and slipped out of sight.

Silverpaw saw Goldpaw give her a nod before whistling silently for Archie. Tobias hopped on top of the dragon's head, and the two of them flew off to the front of the ship.

**...**

Archie knew Goldpaw knew that this plan would work and it would be fun to make the Warden be very paranoid. So Goldpaw whispered quietly into Archie's ear and the white dragon rumbled as if he understood, which he did. So he flew off to go around the front of the ship.

When Archie saw two FireClan cats turning the corner on the rounds, he gave a dragonish smirk at their direction. As they rounded the bend, Archie rumbled loud enough for them to hear; with that done, he flew by and the guards noticed him and looked up.

**(Note: this will be a little bit like a parody. This one part is, in fact. LOL)**

"Look! It's a bird!"

"Yum!"

"It's a plane!"

"What the hell's a plane?"

"Tell me what exactly you two saw."

The Warden had approached them, for he glanced up at Archie's direction and turned around to address the guards. They didn't know that Archie was just above them, hearing the entire chat.

The guards looked at one another before a pale tabby cat mewed, "Uh, I think it may be a furry dragon, sir."

The Warden gave him an angry look, so the guard continued, "Or it may be a flying furry lizard with an empty saddle."

"So what was it, a dragon or a lizard?" the Warden growled, his patience seeming to run out and his pelt bristling with fury.

Archie laughed a dragonish laugh quietly to himself about that little scene. He wished he could grab a turkey and eat it while this went on. But Goldpaw and Silverpaw were counting on him with this mission and he didn't want to fail.

"Uh, I don't know, sir, but I don't think that's the point," the guard mewed.

The Warden pounced toward him, snarling, "I decide what the point is, you damned fool!"

At that, he pounced onto the tomcat, teeth driven into his throat and claws pinning his legs down so that he wouldn't escape. Blood splashed onto the black-&-tan tom's muzzle as he sunk his teeth in deeper and he stood the tom up to shake him like a wolf thrashing its prey. The assaulted tom tried feebly to slash at the other cat, but his slashes were getting weaker.

Finally, the Warden released the tomcat and the guard fell dead into the puddle of blood, his yellow eyes still filled with fright. Archie stepped back a little bit; he had to tell Goldpaw this, even though the others couldn't understand him.

As he wiped the blood off of his muzzle with his tongue, the Warden whirled around to the other cat, hissing, "Wake the captain up and search the entire rig!"

"Uh, sir, that cat you just killed was the captain, and..." the guard replied shakily, hypnotized by the bloody scene that happened a few seconds ago.

The Warden glared down at the body of the dead cat before him and snarled, "Shit! Then wake up another cat who _isn't_ the captain, make _him_ the captain, and _then_ search the entire rig! There's something fishy around here and I don't like it!"

**...**

After Archie showed the cats the events that happened at the front of the ship, Silverpaw was very horrified. She had no idea the Warden of this rig could be so cruel he would kill his own warriors with no problem. Another accident like that could result in the death of an innocent cat and he would go on his rampage of rage. She had enough of seeing death, except when it came to catching prey.

"So that means we don't have any time left," Ashpaw mewed to the pack. "What do we do?"

Goldpaw looked down at his paws and mewed, "I just wish I could make a typhoon." He stopped talking when the two WaterClan cats gave him blasé looks that meant the plan would not work. "Come on!" he added with protest. "The Warden would run away and we'd grab the keys! It's as easy as jackrabbit pie!"

Ashpaw cuffed him on the ear as he retorted, "But then he'd take those keys with him!"

"Well, excuse me, Mr. Negative! I'm just giving out ideas!" the golden tom snapped back.

_A fight is the last thing we need right now! _Without warning, Silverpaw leaped in between the arguing toms and pushed them away from each other. _Toms! They do nothing but fight! _When they finally relaxed, Silverpaw decided to speak up.

"I've tried telling the EarthBenders to rebel and take back their freedom. But they didn't," the silver cat told them. She sat down with a sigh and mewed, "I wish there was a way to help them riot."

"They're going to need rock or earth for that, though," Ashpaw told her, laying his tail gently on her shoulder. "If there's something here that they could Bend..." He started pacing around the small area where they were hiding at.

Silverpaw touched the ground with her paw, remembering what the Warden said: _EarthBenders, this ship is nothing BUT metal; there aren't any rocks or soil to escape with. _She looked up at the cats and informed them sadly, "The bad news is that this entire ship is made of metal."

"Actually, Silverpaw," Goldpaw interrupted her, looking upwards and pointing at smoke rising from a chimney with his paw, "it's not all metal here. Where there's smoke, there's coal; where there's coal, there's _earth_."

At that, he began padding over to the chimney area where the smoke came out like steam. This made Silverpaw feel better as she watched him pad away.

**...**

Silverpaw watched from her perch on the platform from before with Ashpaw right beside her as she watched Goldpaw climb up the smokestacks on the upper reaches of the rig. Behind the stacks, the sky was clearly getting lighter for a new day to begin. And that day was the day to rebel.

They soon looked down into an enormous ventilation shaft which was capped by a grate similar to the ones seen earlier near the mine where Silverpaw allowed herself to be put under arrest for EarthBending. The thought of her using real EarthBending on the rock still haunted and thrilled her.

Silverpaw looked upwards and hissed, "Frog-dung! It's nearly dawn and it may be too late! Are you sure this'll work?"

"I think so," Ashpaw replied, still looking downwards into the vent. "It's like back at the mines, and we'll repeat it, except this part will be bigger." He sat on his haunches and pointed to several areas as he went on, "There's a large pile of coal at that silo over there and the entire system is ventilated. I told Goldpaw to close all of the vents except one and I think he pulled it off. When he AirBends, the coal will go in one direction and it's right here!"

_The plan could work after all,_ Silverpaw purred to herself. She looked up at the sky; it was now morning as the sun rose slowly over the ocean.

However, the mood was ruined as six FireClan cats surrounded them. They were unsheathing their claws and their amber eyes glittered maliciously as they stalked forward. When the inmates came to see what was going on, the guards stalked toward them also. In the lead were Brindle and Brownstone, their eyes blazing with fear.

"Intruders!" one guard yowled, taking a threatening pawstep towards Ashpaw.

The gray apprentice got his badger-bone boomerang ready and he hissed to the warriors, "Stay back! If you don't, I'll rip your pelt off!"

When Silverpaw stood by his side and ready to fight, she saw Brownstone step forward and he begged her, "Stop this madness at once, Silverpaw! You'll lose this battle!"

Brindle turned to his father with astounding astonishment in his leaf-green eyes. Silverpaw gazed at them with shock and she stepped off the grate. She looked at them still with Ashpaw following her. Was Brownstone trying to tell her to give up freeing them?

"That's right, you little fool." The Warden had come to see if the plan would fail; it could be possible that the plan could fail after all. The black-&-tan tom stalked forward with a sneer on his face. "You must listen to your elders. Either listen, or die where you stand."

Ashpaw whirled around at them and hissed as the FireClan cats got nearer by the second. The two cat climbed back on top of the grate, where air began to rush out, followed by a geyser of pebbles. Silverpaw watched with delight; Goldpaw DID pull it off well after all.

Then suddenly, a living river of coal erupted from the grate, eventually and literally tearing it away from its hole. Silverpaw and her brother looked upwards to see the eruption of coal as it shot high into the air over the deck, blasting the grate away. The prisoners looked up at the tall geyser of coal rising high into the air above all the cats.

The Warden was shocked and dismayed while Brindle was amazed as the massive river of coal landed right between the EarthBenders and the FireBenders. A hole in the coal told Silverpaw that Goldpaw blasted his way out from the coal and he emerged, his golden pelt turned black from the dirty pile.

As the Avatar Cat shook the filth from his fur, Silverpaw walked to the top of the pile, grabbed a piece of coal with her teeth, and tossed it to the EarthBenders. She yowled, "EarthBenders! The Avatar Cat has returned like I promised! Here's your chance! Take this coal and your fate into your own paws!"

Her heart fluttered with joy when Brindle padded forward, his eyes sparkling with a new fire, but her hope died down when Brownstone gently grabbed his son's tail and pulled him backwards. Various prisoners began to shrink backward, eschewing open conflict.

Silverpaw gazed down at the prisoners when she heard the Warden laugh cruelly, "You stupid she-cat! Do you honestly think your puny 'words of hope' can change these little kitties?" He said that as his voice rose with evil glee, and he taunted her still, "Open your eyes and look at these hopeless faces. Their pathetic spirits were dissolved a long time ago."

So Silverpaw looked at the prisoners and they did look sad. Her eyes filling with tears and her ears drooping, she turned back to the Warden, who enjoyed seeing her be so upset.

He cruelly taunted her, "Oh, but I believe YOU still believe in them? You've wasted too much of your life turning them around. You failed, you little pest."

Silverpaw's shoulders slumped as she began to cry from defeat and isolation. Laughing at seeing her cry, the Warden finished his taunting: "Now go enjoy your life of failure, you wretch." With one more laugh as she continued to sob, he began to prowl away to go back to the rig.

Suddenly, a piece of coal flew right at the Warden and it sliced at his ear, blood spraying from the wound. The black-&-tan cat whirled around angrily and Silverpaw, through tear-filled eyes, followed his gaze.

Brindle was standing right next to the coal pile, a couple lumps of coal cluttered around his paws and his green eyes severe with pure anger. He was rasping angrily at the Warden, "You bastard. You fucking...BASTARD!"

The Warden pounced at him, flames surrounding his fangs and claws. Brindle braced himself as he got ready for the death blow. Silverpaw closed her eyes, ready for scorching fur and painful howls. Instead she heard a grunt of pain and she opened her eyes to see the Warden on his back as he glared up at Brownstone; the large tabby was standing on a large wall of coal. It was he who had created the wall of coal to prevent him from attacking his son.

The Warden scrambled to his paws and howled to the FireBenders, "Show them no mercy!"

All the warriors yowled with him and they charged at the EarthBending cats, unleashing a wall of flame.

But Brownstone was ready, for he and several EarthBenders (including Brindle) blocked the flames with a huge wall of coal. The coal then absorbed the flames, rendering the fire useless.

Then Brownstone yowled to the EarthBenders, "EarthClan, attack!" With that, he leaped down from the wall, slammed hard onto the ground, and leaped at the Warden, wrestling him to the ground.

The entire rig became a battlefield; all the prisoners, once afraid, gained their courage back and leaped into the battle. It was all thanks to Silverpaw, Brindle, and Brownstone. Brownstone threw some pieces of coal forward towards the FireClan line. The FireBenders in return deflected some of the rocks with flame. Silverpaw glanced at all the prisoners, all of whom have joined the rebellion and have assumed EarthBending stances. FireClan was ready for the same attacks.

General melee began to enfold in front of the three heroes as claws and teeth slashed with each other. One on one, the EarthClan cats blocked fire attacks with coal shields and knocked out FireBender after FireBender by striking them big lumps of coal thrown at high speed. Heaps of burning coals now littered the deck like fish scattered in a river.

Deciding to join the battle, the three apprentices leaped into the battle. One FireClan cat rushed forward with his fangs bared, but Ashpaw grabbed him by the throat and tossed him away. He tossed his badger-bone boomerang at the spears of the FireClan cats and they shot upwards to Tobias. The red-tailed hawk had joined in the fight and was snatching spears from left to right, making physical fighters rendered helpless.

Meanwhile, Brownstone was throwing the Warden away from him and he rushed to the coal pile with his son by his side. Despite his muzzle and chest bleeding, his eyes were shining with new hope. He, Brindle, and another cat raised a huge amount of coal, and mashed it between them to create a boulder. They aimed it at the Warden, who was rapidly shooting fireballs at targets with his mouth. But they did a fake attack, hurling it at him but swerving it around him. It collided with the wall of the rig, bursting through a newly made hole.

"Hurry! Get to the ship!" Brownstone roared as he kicked out a coming FireClan cat. "We'll hold these guys off!"

"Hurry! Don't let any of them escape!" the Warden spat angrily. At that, a few his troops dashed forward and began to barrage the exit with flame.

Seeing this, Silverpaw yowled to her friends to come fight, and they faced those warriors. When they saw the flames lay siege to the wall, Goldpaw twirled his tail around to AirBend a small tornado. The end was accurately aimed at the FireBenders.

Goldpaw called to his friends, "Hey, guys! Toss me some coal over here!"

The two apprentices obeyed and started dropping coal into the top of the little whirlwind. The coal accelerated down the wind tube and exit at high speed towards the Warden's cats. They were barraged and pelted with the flying coal and they all got knocked down.

Now that the Warden and his cats were fenced by Brindle, Brownstone, and other EarthBenders, they were now weak as their wounds bled lithely. Brownstone and two other EarthBending cats EarthBended the entire coal dump, with the Warden and all his cats on it, out of over the open water.

The Warden squealed with fright, "Please don't throw me overboard! I can't swim!"

Brownstone retorted, "Hey, relax. I've heard cowards float." Then the huge dark brown tabby tom dropped them all into the ocean below.

**...**

Fire Nation ships cruised over the late afternoon tides and they were now under the command of the former prisoners, steaming away from the rig. Silverpaw exchanged a smile with Goldpaw and her brother while they rode on Archie, who was swimming beside the ships; she saw pride and happiness in their gray and blue eyes as all three cats gave one more look at the faraway rig they left behind.

"Silverpaw." Brindle padded to the silver she-cat as he went on, "Thanks for helping me and helping all of us."

Silverpaw responded by sheepishly rubbing the back of her head with her paw. "It just took us some coal to finish the job."

The brown tabby cat dipped her head to her and meowed, "No, it wasn't the coal that helped us; it was you and you alone."

As Silverpaw purred her thanks, Brownstone prowled forward to them with pride radiating from his thick fur. He sat down, patted Silverpaw on her shoulder with his huge paw, and purred, "Silverpaw of WaterClan, I want to thank you for helping all of us find our buried courage. My family, my companions, and I are grateful for all you have done."

"So you're going home?" Silverpaw asked him as she dipped her head to Brindle's father.

"Yes, and we're going to take our village back from those FireClan punks." Silverpaw laughed a little when Brownstone said "FireClan punks."

But she silenced herself as Brownstone raised his voice and roared to the EarthClan cats, "We are ALL going to take back our homes and territories! FireClan will flee when we force them back into their own territory!"

When he finished, all the EarthBending cats lifted their voice and echoed his call shouting "EarthClan! EarthClan!" They had finally answered the Call. Silverpaw felt a purr rise in her throat and she purred with all of her might. She was happy they were finally free from their old oppression.

As Archie swam by the ship where the main cats were at, Brindle laid his tail onto her shoulder and meowed, "Silverpaw, how about you come with us? It'll be great!"

Silverpaw looked away as she thought about the offer. Sure, she wanted to stay with Brindle for a little while, but she didn't want to forget her true destiny: helping Goldpaw get over to the Northern WaterClan. She hoped he would understand. Silverpaw admitted she was temporarily attracted to Brindle, but he wouldn't be her true mate.

"I'm sorry, Brindle, but I can't go with you," she mewed, pulling gently away from him. "We have to take Goldpaw to the Northern WaterClan so he could learn WaterBending while you take your town back. We'll do this for our friendship. A friendship that goes deeper than any meerkat could dig," she added, giggling at her little joke-speech thing she used earlier.

The brown tabby loner nodded, for he had understood his friend's mission. He pointed with his tail to Goldpaw, who was riding on Archie's back and playing with a piece of coal as if it were a mouse.

"So he's the Avatar Cat, eh? You'll have your paws full with him, but you'll make it. Silverpaw," he continued, laying his tail onto her paws, "I want to thank you so much for bringing our family back together. I never thought see my father again. I wish I could repay you..." He looked away, a wistful twitch in his tail's movement.

Silverpaw mewed and she murmured, "Yeah, I know. I'll think of something." She reached her paw toward her neck to touch the necklace...and it wasn't there.

Silverpaw was horrified and surprised. _How the hell did it disappear? Did it fall off while we were fighting?_

She pressed her paw onto her neck more frantically before she wailed, "Great StarClan, no! My mother's necklace is gone! Where'd it go?"

**...**

A cat sniffed the remains of the wall of the rig and growled with rage. _Whoever made this stupid wall did a poor job in keeping it well built, _he muttered silently.

He kept sniffing until he picked up the scent of WaterClan mixed in with EarthClan and FireClan. He marched onward to the scent until he found the source: it was a necklace with a blue fox's fang dangling from the end of it and it had a water insignia carved into the sides of it.

_It must be from that WaterClan peasant, _he realized, remembering the silver she-cat from the Southern WaterClan.

Bearclaw picked up the necklace with his fangs as he glared out over the ocean to the setting sun, which was wreathed in the glory of a fiery blood-red sunset, for he was getting somewhere on the path to the Avatar Cat...

_To be continued..._

**...**

**AvatarCat11: I have a question for you three. Should I delete my old Avatar Cat story for this one?**

**Anete: I don't know. This is your story, not ours.**

**Katara: She's right, AvatarCat. We can't force you to delete or create stories.**

**AvatarCat11: (Looks sheepish) Sorry.**

**Holly: (Smiles warmly at him) That's okay.**

**Anete: And here's the review thing! (To the readers) If you could take some time and review this chapter, you'll get some early Christmas gift baskets! It's filled with candy and other good stuff in there. And here's the review for The Leaf-Bare Solstice: The Other World.**

**Summary: Goldpaw and his friends arrive at a village that is being haunted by a vengeful spirit. Will Goldpaw muster up the courage to vanquish this demon? And when Irontail goes missing, will Bearclaw choose him over the Avatar Cat?**

**Everyone: See ya next time! And Happy early Thanksgiving!**


	9. The Other World

**AvatarCat11: Yesterday was Thanksgiving, everyone! And you know what I'm grateful for?**

**Holly: What ARE you thankful for?**

**AvatarCat11: Three things: my family, my friends, and nature.**

**Holly: Same with me, except I'm also thankful that we're all living.**

**Katara: Same here. Don't forget love.**

**AvatarCat11: You're right about that. Now we'll go on with the disclaimer and summary.**

**Disclaimer: I own no rights to own Avatar: The Last AirBender or Warrior Cats.**

**Summary: Goldpaw and his friends arrive at a village that is being haunted by a vengeful spirit. Will Goldpaw muster up the courage to vanquish this demon? And when Irontail goes missing, will Bearclaw choose him over the Avatar Cat?**

**Updating Date: November 25, 2011**

**AvatarCat11, Katara, and Holly: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Leaf-bare Solstice: The Other Realm_

The three cats were riding on Archie as the large dragon glided through the clouds. Goldpaw saw a sparrow fluttering nearby and he leaped forward, caught it, and killed it with a snap to the neck. After he thanked StarClan and added it to the brief fresh-kill pile, he leaned back against Archie's head and stuck the stem of a reed in his mouth, beginning to relax.

Goldpaw had never had this time to relax since he was an apprentice at AirClan. For him, the monks would always train him hard for Avatar Cat training. But he was also thankful he got a little break once in a while.

"Those clouds look a lot like soft sheep wool." Goldpaw looked upwards toward Archie's back, where Silverpaw, the speaker, was sprawled out on her belly and was looking up at the clouds. It seemed as if she was over losing her mother's necklace for a bit and she wasn't worrying about it right now. "I think jumping on one would be like landing in a big comfy cotton pile."

Ashpaw, who was scratching his ear after it was attacked by a flea the other day, teased her, "Well, pounce on one already!"

Silverpaw rolled her eyes at him, twitched her whiskers, and retorted, "Ha ha, Ashpaw."

Goldpaw was now ready for a challenge, though. If it had something to do with air, then it could be the right thing to stretch his legs in a little game. "I'll try it!" he announced to the two other cats.

Without further comments, he leaped off of Archie's side, laughing and hurtling down through the clouds. Goldpaw had his staff tied to his back and the wings were out as he glided through the air. The two WaterClan apprentices looked at him as he flew all over the place around Archie and plunged right into a cloud.

Soon enough, when he sneakily flew above the other cats, he landed right behind them and shook himself dry to make them notice. When they got wet due to the water shaken off of Goldpaw's pelt, they shook themselves dry also.

"It seems to me that clouds are made of water. This'll be a new way to carry water for elders!" he added, purring at his joke. But all he received was two pairs of confused stares.

Suddenly, Silverpaw got up, turned around, and gasped, "Hey, guys, check this out."

The two toms padded forward slowly because pacing quickly on a flying dragon wasn't a good thing. They were expecting more green valleys, where lots of animals would roam about, but the floor of the valley below around the river was charcoal-black instead of vegetation green.

"Great StarClan, that looks bad. Like a scar," Ashpaw mewed.

**...**

In a few minutes, Archie landed on the floor of the valley in the damaged area. Burnt tree stumps dotted the entire barren landscape. The three young cats had already dismounted Archie and were walking around. They checked to see if there was any prey or other creatures around, but they found none.

Ashpaw reared onto his hind legs as he looked around, meowing, "It's very quiet here, guys. There doesn't seem to be other animals here. Or any other forms of life."

Goldpaw glanced up through the remaining treetops of the valley. They were still there, but they were all burned and not a leaf survived. He got up and began padding away from his pack and deeper among the tree stumps.

"Goldpaw, are you all right?" Silverpaw asked him, but he ignored her and kept walking away.

He heard Ashpaw sniff the ground and he must've found some footprints. But Goldpaw heard the dark gray tabby tomcat hiss bitterly, "FireClan was here! Those evil bastards make me puke! They don't have any respect for anything! Not even prey!"

Silverpaw cuffed her brother with her tail and warned him, "Shut up, Ashpaw!" At that, she turned her blue gaze to Goldpaw.

"What? I don't have a right to be pissed off?" Ashpaw spat as he whisked around to glare at her.

His sister gave a sigh and pointed her tail at Goldpaw, who had heard the entire conversation. He wasn't upset about Ashpaw being upset; he was upset because of all the damage that was done by FireClan. And he was supposed to be there to prevent this kind of thing from happening, but he painfully remembered that he was frozen for thirty years.

He sighed, sat down, and smoothed his paws over the dry sooty ground, feeling very worse. He quietly unsheathed his claws and raked the ground silently with them. _If I hadn't disappeared, this valley would still be green and verdant. Look at it now._

"Why would any cat want to do this? Why did I let this happen?" he moaned as he scratched the scorched earth. As he said this, snow fell silently down onto the ground and it fell on Goldpaw, turning his pelt white (sort of).

"Goldpaw," Silverpaw mewed from behind him as she sat beside him. "It had nothing to do with you. You didn't make this happen."

The Avatar Cat faced her, his tail limp beside him. "Yes I did. My duty is to protect all the plants and animals and I screwed that up badly. But the fact is, I don't know how to do this." He hung his head and his ears flattened as he silently cursed himself for leaving his Clan behind.

Silverpaw laid a paw on his paw and she purred, "Well, we are, of course, going to the Northern WaterClan so that we could find you a mentor." She was saying that so that the golden tom could cheer up, but even that didn't do anything to help.

"Yeah, I know. But that's going to be a _WaterBending_ mentor, Silverpaw," Goldpaw retorted bitterly. "Besides, there's no other cat to teach me how to be an Avatar Cat." With a low painful whisper, he added, "G-Goldenstripe told me that Whitestorm can help me with this."

"You mean the Avatar Cat before you?" Ashpaw had joined the conversation and he went over Goldpaw's other side. "He died many moons ago. How can he help when you can't talk to him?"

Goldpaw saw Tobias flap to him and he patted the hawk on the head with his paw, mewing, "I don't know, Ashpaw. I don't know..."

**...**

"Where are you, Uncle? Uncle Irontail!"

Bearclaw stalked through the forest, seething with fury. He and Irontail had to leave to get back on the track of the Avatar Cat and Irontail had to run off. _Fine time to take a leisurely walk! _he snarled silently.

He scented a hot spring nearby; it was also mixed with Irontail's scent. Bearclaw padded through several snow-covered bramble bushes, taking no notice of the prickliness of the thorns. When he would get his paws on Irontail, he would give him a lecture about no goofing off.

He called out once again, "Uncle Irontail! Where are you?"

"Over here, my nephew."

Irontail's voice echoed contently and happily from behind some more bramble bushes. Bearclaw shoved apart the bush to see his uncle relaxing in a hot bath; the tub was made out of rock and it was fed by a stream coming out of the rocks behind it. The iron-gray tabby tom was sighing with pleasure as his tail waved around above the water.

"Uncle?"_ So that's where he got off to, _Bearclaw thought wistfully.

But he shook the thought away and he thought angrily, _He came out here just to waste his damn time when we should be going after the Avatar Cat! We need to go!_

Out loud, he tried to tell his uncle calmly, "We have to go now. I don't want to lose the Avatar Cat's trail; we're right on it."

The gray tabby tom chuckled while lying in the water, "Bearclaw, you seem tense. How about you join your old uncle in this hot spring and let your troubles wash away?"

His patience running out, Bearclaw retorted, "Can't you see my troubles _can't_ be washed away so easily? It's time to pack up and go!"

"Take note of your mentor's advice and take some time to relax," Bearclaw's uncle mewed to him as he waved his tail around the very warm water. "The temperature is very pleasant and toasty. I even heated it myself. And not like cows through their rear ends!" he added jokingly as he saw Bearclaw's disgusted glare.

To show him what he was talking about, he shifted his position so that he was sitting upright. He put both his front paws together, rubbed them, and blasted hot steam from his nostrils. The steam made warm steam erupt from the water, but Bearclaw was able to swat through it angrily with his paw.

"That's enough!" the dark tabby tom spat, sweeping the rest of the vapor away with his tail. "I told you already! We need to go! Now get your lazy ass out of the water!"

Unbothered by his nephew's rudeness, Irontail rose from the water, stretched, and rasped, "Okay."

After hearing what his uncle said about showing patience from when he was an apprentice, Bearclaw felt a little guilty about shouting at Irontail. It wouldn't be that bad to relax, as long as they go after the Avatar Cat. There was only one thing left for him to do: let his uncle spend time in the spring.

Giving a sigh, he huffed, "Actually, you can spend a few more minutes in there if you want. But if you don't come back to the ship in half an hour, we'll leave you behind!"

"All right then. Aaahhh," Irontail sighed happily as he leaned back.

Bearclaw had to admit that his uncle seemed so relaxed. He knew Irontail had been treating his exile as if it was an extended vacation, but that was probably good of him to do. Giving another huff, he padded away through the brambles as he twitched his only ear. He still hadn't forgiven the Avatar Cat for tearing off his other ear with that weird spinning attack.

If only he could tear off that cat's ear instead...

**...**

Goldpaw sat as still as a stone as snow fell heavily onto the ground of the wasteland. He was still blaming himself for the death of the forest and he wished that he'd give up his Avatar Cat status to restore this forest.

While he was mourning for the forest, Silverpaw padded behind him. Goldpaw could scent her, so he turned on the spot to see her bouncing an acorn on her tail. He had no idea what she was going to do with it.

"Are you ready for cheering-up time, Goldpaw?" she purred playfully with laughter sparkling in her blue eyes. Goldpaw shook his head, so, to his surprise, Silverpaw tossed the acorn at him and it bounced onto his head with a small thud.

_"Ow!"_ Hissing with surprise, he backed away from the acorn and protested, "The hell was that for? It didn't cheer me up!"

"Ha! That cheered _me_ up!" Ashpaw laughed as he came forward, laughter inn his blue eyes.

Silverpaw gave her brother a frown, picked up another acorn from the ground, and tossed it at Ashpaw. Like toward Goldpaw, the acorn bounced off of his head and he leaped away with a hiss of shock. He flattened his ears and mewed, "Okay, that made me sad again. But I think I deserved that."

Silverpaw purred satisfyingly and padded to Goldpaw, who looked up at her. She sat beside him, laid a third acorn in between them, and murmured, "Goldpaw, these acorns are strewn all over the forest. It'll grow back like a flower from snow. One day, every acorn in this forest will grow up to be a big tall oak tree, and all the animals, prey, predator, or others, will come back and live here once again. Who knows? Maybe you could grow another Fourtrees!" she purred.

As Silverpaw rolled the acorn into Goldpaw's paw and held it with her own paw, Goldpaw saw truth in her words. He could memorize the Gathering place where the four ancient Clans living before the new Clans went to; he realized he could grow them up again. So he found four acorns, dug a hole a bit away from each other, and dropped the acorns into the holes.

Feeling much better, he turned to Silverpaw with a warm smile and purred, "Thanks, Silverpaw. I'm glad I have you around." He surprised her by pressing his pelt against hers and their tails entwined.

Silverpaw gave him a smile in return and was about to rub her cheek against his when she let out a yelp of surprise. He turned around, let her go, and saw what she yelped about: an old white tom was limping toward him with a cane in his teeth. The tom hobbled toward Goldpaw and looked him over.

Ashpaw cocked his head to one side and mewed, "Who are you?"

The tom didn't answer his question; instead he turned to Goldpaw and rasped, "I thought it would be impossible when I saw the dragon. But when I saw those markings...are you the Avatar Cat?" His old green eyes glistened with hope.

Not sure what to say, Goldpaw turned to look at Silverpaw, who gave him an encouraging nod. He was glad the silver she-cat was there for support. So he turned back to the elder and nodded.

"Thank StarClan you came in time," the tom rasped. "My town needs your help."

**...**

It was already late afternoon as the sun was about to go down beneath hills in the distance. The pack approached some gates and stared up at the upper part of the walls of an EarthClan village. They went on following the old tomcat into the village. Much of it was burned out and destroyed by something that was maybe not natural.

When Goldpaw let out a sigh, the four cats padded into one of the buildings where the town cats had gathered. After the old cat introduced Goldpaw to the villagers, another old cat, a black tom, padded forward with a leader-like look at the way he held his head up.

_He must be the chief here,_ Goldpaw guessed.

"Sir, this is the Avatar Cat," the white tom told the black cat.

The black tom bowed to the Avatar Cat and mewed, "Thank StarClan the rumors are true. It is an honor to be in your presence."

Goldpaw dipped his head to the leader and replied, "It's nice to meet you, too." There was a bit of a pause, then... "Is there anything I could do?"

He saw fear flow in the chief's black fur. "Actually, I'm not quite sure," he mewed, shuffling his front paws.

The white tom glanced at the black tom before meowing, "Sir, the Avatar Cat _can_ help us; he's the only one!" To the apprentices, the white cat explained, "At twilight over the past few days, a terrible spirit monster has been coming here and attacking our town. His name is Kuan-Yin, the black Tyrannosaurus spirit."

"So why's it attacking you?" Ashpaw asked the elder.

"We do not know," the chief rasped, moving to the threshold of the doorway the pack just came in. Looking at the setting sun, he added, "But he had taken a cat every night he invaded and it's been a quarter-moon since he raided us. We've been scared since the leaf-bare solstice is just coming."

Silverpaw joined her littermate in the questions. "And then what happens?"

The white-furred elder responded, "When the solstice gets closer, the worlds of cats and spirits, good and bad, get close to one another and they will combine for that time."

"Kuan-Yin has caused ruin and destruction to our town," the chief added, inviting the white cat to sit next to him. "When the solstice gets here, there's no telling what will become."

Goldpaw gave them a look as if to say _So what do I have to do? _And he really didn't know a lot about what to do, but he knew just a tiny bit.

"The Avatar Cat is the only cat who is the link to StarClan better than medicine cats," the white tom told him. "Who's better at solving a dangerous struggle between two realms than you?"

Now clearly seeing what he had to do, Goldpaw looked away and mewed without sureness, "Sure. It's who I am."

"Hey, link guy, can I speak with you?"

Silverpaw was leading him away by the shoulder with her tail. They approached another window and sat down on the windowsill, looking out on the horizon at the setting sun. Since Ashpaw was trusted in private conversations, they were now free to talk silently.

Silverpaw turned to him and mewed, "Hey, you don't look good about this."

"I know," Goldpaw replied. He glanced down at his paws, words caught on his tongue like a mouse in his claws. He looked back up at her and meowed, "It's because I don't know anything about connecting to StarClan!" With an exasperated growl, he added, "Well, I know that there's no other cat to help me with connecting!"

"So is it a yes or a no?" the silver she-cat asked him.

Goldpaw sighed and mewed, "Well, I have to get off my ass and try, don't I? Maybe it'll come to me in time. I'll just have to wait." He relaxed a little when he said that. Maybe patience would help him find the way to connecting with StarClan.

He yelped with astonishment when two clawed feet landed on his head, but surprise was replaced by relief when he looked up and saw Tobias gazing down at him from his head. The hawk gave a loud caw before Goldpaw rubbed his pet's head affectionately.

Silverpaw had seen the scene and she purred while smiling, "You can do this, Goldpaw. I have a lot of faith in you. I KNOW you can do this." When that was finished, she touched his ear with her muzzle for good luck.

Ashpaw joined up with them, laid a paw on the Avatar Cat's shoulder, and meowed as he smiled, "Yeah, you can do this. Besides, we're all gonna face a terrifying dinosaur spirit, anyways."

Goldpaw gave his friend a friendly flick on the shoulder with his tail. Even in rough times, there was nothing Ashpaw's silliness couldn't cure. And when he had his friends with him, he felt they could do anything together.

**...**

Dusk was already arriving by the time Irontail woke up and saw that there weren't other cats around the area. But he didn't want to leave the hot spring yet; he remembered taking soakings in many hot springs before. One time, he had mistaken tar pits for a hot spring and he continued to be mistaken until he saw a Smilodon get sucked into it to its death.

All of a sudden, a rustling noise in the bramble bushes made Irontail's fur stand on end. He called out calmly yet with claws unsheathed, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

As he scanned the area, a small blur of brown had scurried out of the brambles and settled itself at the foot of the bath. Irontail saw what it was: a small animal that looked like a rabbit, except it had short ears and it had a mouse-like face. It also had brown fur and a short stumpy tail.

Irontail purred, "What's this? A little pika! I should've known you were in the bushes! Little one, you gave me quite a spook!"

He gently grasped it in his jaws, careful not to hurt it bad. He had been known to rarely hunt, although he was a great fisher. Irontail laid the pika down beside him and on the rim of the spring. When that was done, he laid back down and began talking to the little animal.

"Looks like I overslept," he mused. "I clearly missed my nephew's threat, but I must say it was a nice catnap."

The pika started hopping up and down on the lip of the bath and making squeaking noises. Suddenly it stopped jumping and the ground started shaking from deeper in the forest. The pika flipped around to see dust clouds rising from the forest and then hopped away like a rabbit.

Just then, Irontail glanced up to see the ground disturbance or tremor move. Soon enough, it reached Irontail's bath and two other shock waves have approached the bath from Irontail's left and right. The old warrior had been caught by surprise, and when the shockwaves reached the spring, he was held fast by three triangular stones that have been pushed into the tub.

A second later, three EarthBenders appeared next to the tub behind each of the three stone shells holding Irontail imprisoned. They were growling and their teeth were bared. Their armor was also glowing golden in the dying sunlight while the fur underneath bristled.

A dark gray tom sniffed a nearby tree before padding back to the others. "He's a FireClan cat," he growled.

"But he's not your average FireClan cat," a brown-&-gray tom hissed, leering at Irontail. "This is Darkstar's older brother: the Griffin of the West and the former great warrior Irontail. But he's our prey now."

Irontail squinted unhappily at the three cats. He didn't know what to do except patiently wait for someone to come to him. _Patience is a virtue, _he thought calmly as the warrior cats EarthBended him out of the tub and led him away with a chained leash around his neck.

**...**

The sun was finally setting as Goldpaw padded from the safe house and stood in the center of the town. He had no idea when the dinosaur spirit would come, but he knew he would not show any fear. Giving up standing there, he began to prowl around the town with his staff on his shoulders, calling for Kuan-Yin.

"Hello? Kuan-Yin? Can you hear me?" he called. "I'm the Avatar Cat and I'm talking to you! I want to talk with you!"

Ashpaw and Silverpaw were back at the safe house, waiting for the giant spirit to appear. The sun was already behind the mountains. Ashpaw was muttering, "This is hopeless. I'm not gonna stand around while Goldpaw waits for some demon to appear."

The old white cat had approached them and meowed, "The Avatar Cat can save us all. I know he can."

"Yeah. But still, he can't face that thing alone," Ashpaw replied drily.

Back outside, the sun had completely disappeared and there were no stars appearing that night. The world had become completely dark and frightening. Like a loner, Goldpaw whirled around slowly at the entrance gate and jumped a little at the hooting sound of an owl.

Goldpaw yowled loudly for anything to hear, "Night has fallen, Kuan-Yin! Where are you? Anyways, uh...I hereby banish you from this village in peace! Now go!"

He twirled his staff like a marching stick and planted it in the ground like a flag. His expression was resolute and it seemed the spirit or whatever it was had gone now. Goldpaw gave a satisfied snort and waved his tail around the air like a victory flag.

"Well, I'm glad this shit's done and over with!" With another snort, he turned around and padded away toward the town.

But he failed to hear unearthly whispers reach his ears. And he also failed to see a horrific scaly two-legged beast with glowing red eyes, sharp teeth, clawed feet, tiny arms, and a thick tail plod behind him. It was slowly plodding heavily after him with a thud as it snarled with hatred...

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldpaw walked placidly toward the meeting building. Feeling nervous, he wondered if there was a night predator around the village. So he decided to glance toward the sky in case an owl swooped from nowhere to snatch him up. But owls would normally grab kits or smaller animals like mice.

But the Avatar Cat realized that something strange was going on (mainly because of the very heavy footsteps), so he turned to see what it was. It was a large black-scaled Tyrannosaurus Rex glaring down at him with glowing red eyes and a purple aura surrounding it. Its huge jaws were open, saliva dripping from its massive sharp teeth.

Despite the dinosaur looking scary, Goldpaw looked up, gave it a smile, and mewed, "Hello. You must be that Kuan-Yin spirit?" He dipped his head and tried to introduce himself, "I'm Goldpaw and I'm-"

**(Author's Note: You know the T. Rex Roar from **_**Jurassic Park**_**? Well, this T. Rex is gonna do the same! So watch out, folks!)**

But he wasn't able to finish because Kuan-Yin opened its mouth wide and roared, shooting a blast of orange aura at him. Goldpaw didn't jump away from Kuan-Yin, but his staff did get blown away a few cat-lengths. The dinosaur stood straight up and began shooting another aura blast from its mouth as it roared again. Then it got back into a hunting position and plodded quickly into the town, ignoring Goldpaw and leaving him behind.

"Hold on there!" Goldpaw called to Kuan-Yin, turning around. "I'm Goldpaw, I'm the Avatar Cat, and I wanna help you!" When Kuan-Yin didn't listen, Goldpaw dashed after it, yowling, "Wait for me!"

The spirit destroyed in rapid succession two houses and a watchtower using its brute strength (with clawed feet, teeth, and tail) and orange energy. The monster continued destroying on building after building as Goldpaw tried hard to gain its attention. With confusion, he began to think to himself. Why was it not paying attention to him? If it did, it would turn onto him.

At the safe house, Silverpaw and Ashpaw tensed up when they saw the massive dinosaur prowl into the town and it was roaring a terrifying roar. Immediately, Ashpaw leaped out the window and landed on the porch, ready to join the fray. The black-pelted chief padded after them with confusion in his gaze.

"The Avatar Cat sure has..." He jumped aside when a piece of building was thrown at them and at the window, "...unusual tactics."

"But the damn thing won't listen," Ashpaw replied, looking out at the clearing. "We should help him."

"No. The Avatar Cat has to do this alone," the white elder joined in, grabbing Ashpaw's tail and pulling him back gently.

Silverpaw nodded and told Ashpaw, "The elder's right. Goldpaw will find the right way to do this." Tobias fluttered over and landed right beside Ashpaw and gazed out at the clearing.

Just beyond, a huge pile of debris got blown above the building as Kuan-Yin entered the area. Roaring loud, the giant dinosaur swept another building away with its tail. Goldpaw leaped onto a building as he tried jumping up and down as he tried vainly to get the spirit's attention.

"You're pissing me off when you're not paying attention!" Goldpaw yowled seriously. "Just stop wreaking havoc for a sec and listen to me!"

As the monster smashed another building to dust with its clawed feet, Goldpaw continued, "I'm trying to do my duty! You know? Being the bridge between our world and your spirit worlds? Excuse me, but please stop!"

When it didn't listen still, Goldpaw's patience ran out as he roared as loudly as a lion, "Kuan-Yin, I command you to stop that right now and turn around! NOW!"

Finally, Kuan-Yin DID turn around to face him, but it quickly rotated back around and swatted him away from the roof with its tail. The golden tom flew through the air and hit a nearby roof. He slid off and collapsed on the ground, blood trickling from his mouth.

Back at the safe house, Ashpaw saw that scene and spat with fury, "That does it! He needs help whether he wants it or not!" Since he leaped back into the window, he jumped back out of the window and ran towards Kuan-Yin.

"Ashpaw, stop!" Silverpaw yelled to him as the silver apprentice got ready to follow him, but she was held back by the white tom, who was pleading with her, "Don't! It's not safe out there!"

Back at the scuffle, Goldpaw had gotten back up, his shoulder bleeding, and got back to chasing Kuan-Yin. Suddenly, he saw a dark gray tabby blur get between him and the big dinosaur, blue eyes blazing and claws unsheathed. At first, Goldpaw didn't know who that was, but then, with a closer look, he saw who this cat was.

_Ashpaw? What in the name of StarClan is he doing?_

"Yo, Kuan-Yin!" Ashpaw was calling to the dinosaur. "Watch out for this!"

He rushed forward and leaped onto the spirit's big snout, clawing and biting at it. Strangely enough, Kuan-Yin wasn't bleeding at all; in fact, it didn't look like it was even clawed on the nose. As Ashpaw leaped back, his back arched, Goldpaw dashed forward, for he was really frightened for his friend. The dark gray tabby tom wasn't a really spiritual cat like he was, but he slightly understood this situation well.

He hissed, "Ashpaw, what the hell are you doing out here? Get back to the safe house!"

But Ashpaw laid his tail on his shoulder and huffed, "We'll fight this brute together. Friends till the end."

"But I don't want to fight this spirit unless I...what the...?"

For Kuan-Yin had dashed toward the two tomcats and grabbed Ashpaw with its very small arms, cutting Goldpaw off mid-sentence. Goldpaw got his glider out, spread its wings out, and got on to pursue Kuan-Yi as the dinosaur stomped into the forest with Ashpaw in its grasp and Goldpaw pursuing it.

Behind them, Silverpaw had finally gotten out of the safe house and dashed forward to chase the creature that took her brother. By the sounds of her voice, she was yowling for him.

"Ashpaw! No!"

But she couldn't run anymore as she stood at the entrance of the town, panting for breath and looking down with sadness. While sympathetic cats came around her to comfort her, all of them gazed out at the dark forest and began waiting.

**...**

Bearclaw leaped through branch after branch like a monkey, hoping to find his uncle before they left. Despite what he told Irontail, he didn't mean it entirely when he told him they would leave him behind. He had said that to maybe get him moving on for their quest to find the Avatar Cat.

He leaped down from a birch tree branch and lifted his muzzle to the air. "Uncle Irontail! You still there?"

As another warrior, a ginger tom with a white face, ran after him, Bearclaw finally reached the spring. But Irontail wasn't there; instead, Bearclaw had barged into the clearing with the now ruined hot tub. Worry creeping into his heart, the dark brown tabby tom began strolling around the area, yowling for his uncle.

"Uncle, where are you?" he called to the night sky.

"Maybe he left because you'd leave him here, sir," the ginger tom mewed to him. He looked as if he was afraid Bearclaw would tear him apart for saying that.

Instead, Bearclaw sniffed the air, tasting the scents around him, and hissed, "Something's not right."

He climbed onto a couple of rocks and examined the hot spring carefully, now with the stone spears embedded in it. "Come look at this pile of rocks," he commanded his warrior, beckoning him over by flicking his tail to him and jerking his head to the tub.

The ginger tom prodded the tub with his paw, sniffed the air, and reported, "There seemed to be a rockslide, Bearclaw."

"Land never slides uphill," the tabby tom retorted before taking a deeper breath and drinking the scents. He took a much deeper breath and he realized what must have taken Irontail, for there was a mix of other cats' scents hanging around the tub.

He snarled, "Those rocks didn't move by themselves; it would take an earthquake to do that. This explains it all: EarthBending cats have captured my uncle!"

**...**

As he glided through the trees at breakneck speed, Goldpaw made himself speed up harder in pursuit of Kuan-Yin, who still had Ashpaw in its claws. He wouldn't want StarClan to be angry with him for letting an apprentice die...especially if that cat was his friend. So, trying hard to not think about what would happen to Ashpaw, he sped on some more.

He finally found the dinosaur running through the dark forest with, of course, Ashpaw in its claws still. The dark gray tabby cat was squealing with fear and he was desperately clawing at the clawed hands of the monster. Goldpaw glided through the trees, but he was swatted aside from view by a loose oak branch.

"Goldpaw, over here!" Ashpaw was yowling with fear flashing in his pale eyes and his claws extended to their fullest.

Goldpaw found Ashpaw's voice and the sound of his friend got him moving again and flying after Kuan-Yin again. "Hang on, Ashpaw! I'm coming for you!"

Suddenly, the dinosaur was seen running into the barren wasteland that Goldpaw and his friends (plus Archie!) had arrived at earlier. Goldpaw got closer to Kuan-Yin as the spirit ran on with Ashpaw shouting for help in its clutches. The golden cat glided in closer to the two and stretched his front paw forward to Ashpaw, who grabbed onto it with his jaws.

Just when Goldpaw could free the WaterClan cat, both his friend and Kuan-Yin disappeared. With a bolt from the blue, Goldpaw started losing wind to his glider and he fell down at the statue of a bear, crashing his head onto the top. Blackness swallowed him up as he fell down in front of the statue, out cold.

_..._

Some hours later, Goldpaw woke up and sat on his haunches, his eyes looking up at the crescent moon shining down onto him and bathing him in blue moonlight. Recalling what had happened with Kuan-Yin and Ashpaw, Goldpaw looked around to see if they were around. But he didn't find them. There was just the statue of the bear in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Ashpaw," Goldpaw moaned, laying onto the ground and bowing his head. "I failed you."

**...**

Irontail gave a sigh of boredom as he rode on one of the war horses that the EarthBenders had brought with them as they plodded on a narrow piece of terrain above a crevice. Just like cats and dogs, horses could come in different colors, shapes, sizes, and breeds. Right now, he was riding on a dappled gray horse.

As he gazed at one of the lanterns the large gray-&-white captain was carrying, he meowed to the warriors, "So where are you taking me, exactly?"

"To make you face justice, you old fatass," the captain hissed, not turning around as he rode on his large brown horse.

"I know that," Irontail retorted. It could be fun to have a nice talk with these cats for some time even when his paws were tied together. "But where, pray tell, are you taking me?"

The gray-&-white captain answered him with a sneer, "We're taking you to a place you've been to before. You laid siege to it for nearly two years one time, but that place sure had some tough backbone!" He finished the statement by giving a sneering laugh.

Irontail could remember it all now; the city that was the biggest city in the world was still strong during his absence. He and some of his kin had fought in a great battle to win control of the city. It had been a massive fight, but the BoulderClan cats had good spirit and courage.

The gray tabby elder laughed, although it was just a pensive laugh. He could remember it all now while talking to these cats; he remembered that a certain death of a certain warrior caused him to call a retreat, ending the siege.

The fat gray tabby tom purred, "Ah, yes. The great city of BoulderClan! I remember it well."

"Yeah, I'm sure of that," the fourth cat, a black-&-ginger tom sneered at him. "BoulderClan's still greater that you are, or, as I say, than you _were_."

All three cats laughed at that taunt, but Irontail paid no attention to those words. The walled city WAS greater than he because he couldn't get through.

"So? I accepted my defeat with honor!" he hissed defensively. "It had been two years since my warriors and I had been home and we were all tired. Even I was tired..." He gave a massive yawn and, for the fun of it, yawned right into the face of the captain, who he was riding with, "...and I'm still tired. I want to go to bed."

Suddenly, Irontail fell off of the horse and the four EarthBenders turned about on their horses to glare at him. Irontail was lying on the ground and he was _still_ tied up, but he had a smile on his flat face before the four cats picked him up. They placed him back on the gray horse before heading off.

Little did they know that he was leaving something behind...

**...**

Leap after leap through the tree branches, Goldpaw was making his way to the village; he was almost there when he heard Silverpaw's depressed mew as she was talking to another cat. It must be the white-furred elder, Goldpaw guessed as he got nearer and landed on the ground.

As he felt snow began to fall, he heard the old white cat whisper to the apprentice reassuringly, "I'm very certain they'll return, young one. Don't give up hope."

"Yeah, I know," Silverpaw sighed, sounding defeated.

"Try to get some rest," the old cat murmured to her, and Goldpaw heard the flapping of the old cat putting a blanket on the WaterClan she-cat.

Goldpaw got nearer when he heard Silverpaw reply, "I know." Then he heard her pray, "Please, StarClan. Don't take my brother away."

Then, the old tomcat meowed to her with pity, "Your brother will be in good paws; he's probably in those good paws now. If the Avatar Cat came back without him, I'd be very astonished."

While he had been talking, Goldpaw finally approached them along the forest trail leading up to the gate, but he wasn't sure what to tell Silverpaw about Ashpaw. When Goldpaw looked up, he saw that Silverpaw's silver-gray pelt was now glowing white in the moonlight while she looked down at the ground, depressed. She looked much prettier than usual, but there wasn't any time to tell her that.

Choosing his next words carefully, he took a deep breath and began to speak.

"S-Silverpaw?" Goldpaw mewed, but his voice sound like he was choking on fresh-kill at his friend's eyes closed with sorrow and her ears flattened. So he started again, "Silverpaw, I don't know how to tell you this...but...but I lost Ashpaw. I'm so sorry."

But she didn't hear him talk and the old cat, whose fur was glowing like a ghost and was carrying Ashpaw's badger-bone boomerang in his jaws, padded to her. As Goldpaw padded closer to the two felines, the sun began to climb in the sky behind them and snow continued to fall. In the meantime, the old cat dropped the boomerang at Silverpaw's feet so he could speak to her.

"The night is over and the sun has risen to a new day," the elder mewed to Silverpaw, beginning to pad away. "He's likely to come back really soon."

Angry that the two cats weren't listening to him at all, Goldpaw immediately patted the tom on the head and he did the same to Silverpaw, but they apparently didn't feel his paw. He suddenly did a double-take at his paw and he saw that the blue light _wasn't_ moonlight at all. In fact, it was surrounded by stars and realization dawned on him.

_Mouse-dung!_ Goldpaw exclaimed, astonishment seeping into his brain. _I'm in StarClan!_

**...**

Meanwhile, Bearclaw leaped down from his Komodo dragon and sniffed the ground. He caught a scent of FireClan and EarthClan mixed together with a couple of horses. Bearclaw was excited about smelling the scent of his uncle nearby, purring quietly. He had found his uncle's scent.

He sniffed again and he suddenly saw it: a small red collar on the ground. The dark brown tabby knew that kittypets were now rare in this world, but cats would often wear collars to feel a sense of fashion around them. He padded closer to the collar and sniffed it, but then he leaped back in disgust at the reek. It smelled like a skunk and a fox mixed together.

Keeping a clear face, he muttered, "Damn. That _is _Irontail, all right!"

**...**

Goldpaw decided to sit next to Silverpaw and wait with her. He knew his friend wouldn't feel him next to her, but at least this was better than nothing. Goldpaw couldn't bear to see Silverpaw look so dejected, although there was nothing he could do to help for now.

So he managed to pull on a smile and told Silverpaw, "Silverpaw, I promise I'll figure this out. It's true what those other cats told me; I'm the link between the real cat world, StarClan, and the Dark Forest! But I need to...figure out what to do, that's all. Once that's out of the way, mission accomplished!"

Goldpaw heard a rumble and he twisted around to see Archie trudge slowly over to Silverpaw. When he got to her, he let out a pitiful moan. He nudged the silver apprentice queen with his long muzzle and Goldpaw padded to him and almost rested his paw on the dragon.

"Hey, Archie! I'm here, buddy!" Remembering being in StarClan's territory, he added, "But you can't see me either, huh?"

Seeing that Silverpaw wasn't paying attention, Archie kept nudging her, moaning until she could pay attention. Silverpaw finally looked up at the dragon and gave a small smile to him.

She patted his snow-covered snout and purred, "It'll be all right, Archie. I bet you a couple of mouse tails that Goldpaw and Ashpaw will be back. You know what? They probably got you some rabbits for a snack."

Archie gave a grumble of relief and followed Silverpaw as she padded back into the village. Goldpaw wanted to follow them, but he couldn't talk to them anyways. And he still didn't know how to talk to the spirits about where to find Ashpaw.

He angrily padded to the forest path and thought, _I wish they would speak to me right now!_

Out loud, he screeched to the morning sky, "StarClan, help me talk to Whitestorm of FireClan! How CAN I talk to him! What can I do?"

All he received was no response at first and Goldpaw looked down in despair. He turned around to pad back to the town. Then, he heard a noise in the trees and turned around to see something down the path, his face showing elation and relief.

"Ashpaw?"

A bright light shone on the path and the thing got nearer. Goldpaw's relief turned to horror when he saw a large black griffin soar right at him. Goldpaw had heard about griffins; if an unlucky cat came across a wild one, the griffin would have extra fresh-kill.

"That's not Ashpaw!" he yelped, stepping backwards.

Deciding to try and flee, he got his glider out and began to fly away. But when he took flight, he crashed back onto the ground. He was amazed he couldn't fly here, and he quickly decided to use his Bending powers to defend himself. So he urgently shot a blast of air out of his mouth to pick up his staff, but no air came out of his jaws.

Goldpaw looked at his paws and tried to make air, but he couldn't at all. Scared, he mewled, "I can't AirBend here? Shit!"

And right after he finished talking, he saw a shadow fall across him. The griffin was already standing over him, gazing down at him with its dark sharp eyes like an eagle. Goldpaw was ready for the fight of his life as he took another step back and prayed to StarClan for help.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldpaw backed away as the large griffin stepped toward him, wreathed with blue fire and stars. It bent down to him, who cowered under its gaze, and he finally found the courage to speak to it.

"Excuse me, but do you know where Ashpaw is?" he asked it, feeling respect for the creature grow. He heard stories about the creature that was part eagle and part lion.

But it didn't shriek or anything; instead, the griffin rose onto its hind legs and raised a talon in the air on its fore foot and Goldpaw flinched, ready for the blow. But the blow didn't come; instead, the griffin gently touched the center of Goldpaw's arrow marking with the tip of the talon.

Suddenly, Goldpaw felt a strange fire burn in his eyes and he was seen riding on Archie beside a large reddish-brown griffin; it was the same griffin that appeared to him. And riding on top of it was a large pure white tom with golden eyes and a wise look on his elderly face. The white cat turned around to him, nodded, and then he flew off on the griffin.

The vision was over as soon as it had begun, but Goldpaw understood now. "So you're Avatar Cat Whitestorm's animal guide like Archie's mine!" he mewed to the griffin. As the StarClan beast nodded, the golden tom told it, "Well, my friend Ashpaw is lost in StarClan and I want to save him, but I don't know how! Is there anything that'll help me talk to Whitestorm?"

Once again, the griffin nodded and Goldpaw yowled with happiness. _So there IS a way to speak to Whitestorm after all! _As the griffin lay on the ground, Goldpaw started to climb onto it. But he glanced back to see Silverpaw crouched down as she and Archie ate two rabbits side by side, but her blue eyes were sad. _I promise I'll be back, Silverpaw._

"Take me to Whitestorm!" Goldpaw demanded to the griffin when he settled onto the beast.

With a screech, the griffin lifted itself up into the air with a flap from its wings. Goldpaw looked down at the ground to see Silverpaw sadly patting Archie on his huge head with her paw. He was determined to help her brother get out of StarClan because it wasn't his time to join their warrior ancestors.

**...**

As the horses plodded on a winding mountain path after having a dinner of oats, Irontail began counting trees as time passed. He was getting bored instead of frightened and he was ready to fall asleep right there.

He was about to when he heard a screech from far away. Thinking it was a bald eagle, Irontail looked up and was startled to see a griffin surrounded by stars fly in the clouds above him. And he saw a golden cat on the beast as they soared overhead.

_Ah, it must be a StarClan griffin, _Irontail thought reflectively. He remembered when he became known to be the Griffin of the West and it filled him with blissful pride.

Hearing him sigh, the gray-&-white captain turned to him and asked him, "Is there a problem?"

"No. None at all," Irontail replied respectfully. But he remembered the incident when he had slipped off the horse and he began to wonder if he could repeat the trick...

So he began to whine like an apprentice, "Well, there actually is a problem, sir. My joints these days have become too achy and these chains and collar are too slack."

"Too slack?"

Irontail nodded and mewled some more, "The collar is also unfastened, it and the chains make an agonizing sound, and they collide with my legs and neck. It would do me a kindness if you could tighten them for me. Just a little so they won't be shaking and noise could be stopped?"

The captain exchanged glances with his warriors, gave them a nod, and told Irontail, "Okay, we'll do just that. You come and help him out," he added to the dark gray tom as he lifted the plump gray tabby carefully to the front of their horse.

The dark gray cat got off of his horse and he touched Irontail's chains and, at the right time, Irontail breathed hot air on them. They became red hot and Irontail grabbed the EarthBender's paw with his teeth and put it on the hot iron. The warrior screamed in pain and Irontail hopped off the horse.

Laughing with triumph, he launched himself into the air and fired a blast of flame from his back feet at the other warriors on their horses. He rolled off the trail and down the hill during the ensuing uproar.

"Get off your asses and go after him!"

**...**

A volcanic island in the shape of a crescent moon lay ahead of Goldpaw and the griffin as they quickly approached it. There, on the coast, was a beautiful FireClan temple, which the griffin immediately entered through the wall.

Goldpaw looked up and saw that the griffin was now flying right towards the ceiling. Scared at being smashed, he cried to the griffin, "Hey, what the hell are you-RROOWWRR!"

He closed his eyes as they got nearer, ready for the crash. It never came, for they went through safely; Goldpaw cursed himself for forgetting that he was in StarClan's territory. The griffin now landed on the floor of a secret chamber at the top of the temple. It was empty except for a golden statue of an old cat in the background. Goldpaw instantly dismounted from the beast and padded toward the statue.

"It's just a statue of Whitestorm," Goldpaw told the griffin, confusion filling his tone. So that was all the griffin did to bring him here: just a statue. "I don't get it."

The griffin walked to him and once again touched the center of his arrow marking with its front talon. Goldpaw felt another flash of fire fill his eyes as he saw a giant meteor the size of three dragons race across the sky at an astonishing speed. It looked like the meteor that might have wiped out the Twolegs. And it was over as the griffin removed its talon.

Blinking, the golden cat replied with comprehension, "So a meteor is what he wanted to tell me about? When can I speak to him?"

The griffin lowered its head in response. Goldpaw looked upwards to see where it now revealed that the sun shined through a tiny window high up in the ceiling. The shaft of light, previously blocked by the griffin, now hit the wall near Whitestorm's right shoulder and eye. The griffin touched Goldpaw's head again with its talon and a vision of time passing at the Fire Temple began.

Clouds were flying by at incredible speed overhead and the sun rounded its daily course in a matter of seconds. Three days passed in this fashion before Goldpaw landed on the floor of the statue's chamber. He saw two Asian written characters shown in the air before he looked at the little window where the sunlight entered.

Days passed in a rapid series there as well. Goldpaw landed back into the room in front of the statue from the back of the room, where it became clear with each day the spot where the shaft of sunlight hit the back wall got closer to hitting the statue's face as each day passed by. The vision ended in a matter of seconds.

The Avatar Cat shook his head with dizziness. _That was a really weird vision I had,_ he thought to himself. _But I think it MAY be worth it._

So he explained all he knew now, "So this is a calendar? That light will help me get to this statue when the solstice comes? That's when I could talk to him?"

The griffin nodded and let out a squawk, but Goldpaw remembered his other part of the mission: to rescue Ashpaw. "Well, I can't wait for that long. I just have to save my friend now!"

So he got onto the griffin, grabbed some of its feathers, and the two of them left the temple as swiftly as a cheetah chasing a pronghorn. He had to hurry or Kuan-Yin would attack some more.

**...**

As Irontail rolled down the slide, still chained, he began thinking of other tricks to pull on those warriors until he got to Bearclaw. He began laughing with joy at the thought of that...until he felt the earth beneath him catch him by surprise, thus trapping him. Now the other four cats (plus the captain) began racing down after him. He was almost buried in earth as the warriors caught up to him.

The brown-&-gray tom spat to the captain with fury, "This old bastard is too risky to keep around us now, sir! We have to do something immediately!"

"You're right," the captain sneered in return. "He has to be dealt with right now!"

Irontail coughed out a bit of rocks and stones from his mouth as he stared up at the warriors with horror. His chances of seeing his nephew again began to dwindle as he thought of another trick, but there was none now. He winced as he imagined those teeth crunching down on his paw and severing it from its leg.

**...**

Silverpaw sniffed the air one more time as Archie sailed through the air over the forest, roaring for his owner. She felt as bad as the dragon did, for Goldpaw and Ashpaw hadn't returned yet.

"I don't see any of them anywhere, Archie. It's no use," she muttered, glancing up at the sky one more time. "Let's just get back to town and wait."

**...**

While the Komodo dragon sniffed the ground with its flicking tongue, Bearclaw sniffed the path where the horses had left their hoof prints and their "leavings." He snorted with revulsion and stalked back to the treeless skies.

He looked at his lizard once and he turned to look back from looking over his shoulder. He let out a gasp of shock when he saw the Avatar Cat's pet white dragon flying through the sky with the figure of a cat sitting on top of it. He knew exactly who that was.

"The Avatar Cat is here!" Bearclaw snarled.

He began to stalk toward them when he realized that there was another thing missing: his uncle. Bearclaw wanted to go after the Avatar Cat and regain his honor and glory, but he didn't want to travel with no one by his side. He looked back to the path where the horses had plodded past and he couldn't ignore the fact that he had to go back.

So, giving a final but determined grunt, he leaped back onto his Komodo dragon and the great lizard began dashing down the path as quickly as it can.

**...**

Goldpaw and the griffin were flying through the wasteland at the edge of the forest. Up ahead, the bear stature was seen, rapidly growing larger. Goldpaw could see his own body sitting in a meditating pose atop it. Goldpaw braced himself for the painful impact, but he instead rejoined his own body as the griffin disappeared as it flew into the statue.

The golden tom woke up, now back in the material world. He leapt down the statue and turned to stare in wonder at it. He looked at his own paws and saw that they were now rich golden again, so the rest of him must be golden again. After he looked closely up at the face of the bear statue, Goldpaw opened his glider and flew back toward the village.

When he got back, the sun was already setting behind him. Goldpaw landed, folded his staff up, and ran to the safe house, where Silverpaw was sitting at the porch and looking at the sky, her dark blue eyes sad and a little reddened from staying up. He ran up to her and let out a meow to let her know he was there.

Silverpaw gave a returning yowl of joy as she leapt off the porch and ran to him, rubbing her cheek to his. Tobias, who was flying around the buildings, dove at him and landed on Goldpaw's head, rubbing his master's head with his foot.

"Goldpaw, you're back!" Silverpaw mewed happily to him. Then she looked around them and asked him, "So where's Ashpaw at?"

Shame and confusion burning under his fur, Goldpaw looked her in the eye and whispered in a discouraged tone, "I just don't know, Silverpaw. I think we'll have to wait."

Both cats looked over Goldpaw's shoulder at the setting sun behind them, for the solstice would arrive very soon.

**...**

Dusk was settling over the land as Irontail was stretched over a large rock in the center of the pit, his front paws spread before him. The warriors were standing over him, their eyes burning with savagery.

"Those paws of yours are too dangerous, so we're cutting them off!" the captain snarled at him.

He rose onto his hind legs, his paw surrounded by earth-like claws and he brought it down onto his opponent. Irontail waited for the snapping of bones and the spraying of blood in the night air.

It never came; he looked up to see a dark brown shadow lunging at the captain, scratching and biting him. The gray-&-white captain struggled from underneath it, blood running down his face from some wounds.

_Bearclaw!_

His nephew looked at Irontail and slammed his front paw down onto the chains on his paws and neck, freeing him. Irontail gave his former apprentice a warm smile as he rose to his paws and he shook the dirt and stones from his thick pelt.

"Well done, Bearclaw. That was a fine attack," Irontail praised his dark brown tabby nephew.

Bearclaw nodded back and purred, "You were a great mentor to me, Uncle Irontail. I learned all I could from you."

But the little reunion was immediately over as the five EarthClan warriors lunged toward them and surrounded them, fur bristling and their claws unsheathed. The captain stepped forward, his yellow eyes filled with anger.

"Surrender now! You're outnumbered! It's five cats against two!" he yowled.

Irontail gave a laugh as he and his nephew stood back-to-back. "What you say is true, my friend, but you are the ones who are unmatched!"

All five EarthBenders at once launched stones at the pair. Irontail swung his chains at them and broke them into pieces mid-flight, while Bearclaw blasted the two nearest him with fire. Irontail glanced back to see past Bearclaw where it was clear that the two warriors behind him had just shot two large rocks at him. Bearclaw didn't move, but he stood his ground, as if he thought he could deflect those rocks himself.

The dark brown tabby tom was about to be hit when Irontail lunged between them and wrapped the stones with his chains. He twisted them around his body and let them loose back at their captors. They were hit in the bellies and were both knocked out, their fur stained with blood.

The Captain raised two stones and launched them at Bearclaw, who darted away from them and returned with a clawful of fire. The fire blast was blocked when the Captain lowered his large head and the fire broke away harmlessly over his apple-shaped helmet. The Captain raised two huge sheets of rock with his front paws and Bearclaw stepped back, looking afraid and hissing, but, realizing that his nephew was in trouble, Irontail threw the chains at the captain, wrapped them around his front paws, and yanked him back as the rocks landed on top of him. He had almost been crushed by those couple of rocks.

The EarthClan warriors were groaning, bleeding, and buried in dirt, while Irontail and Bearclaw stood over them. They looked at each other and smiled, Bearclaw resting his tail on his uncle's shoulder.

Then, after they hugged, Bearclaw leaped away and complained with half-amusement and half seriousness, "Now will you PLEASE groom your pelt? It smells gross!"

**...**

Goldpaw waited at the main gate as night finally settled on the land. He turned his head around to look over his shoulder at Silverpaw and Tobias, who were waiting at the window of the safe house. Goldpaw took a deep breath when dead leaves swirled around him and he guessed that Kuan-Yin would come again to attack the town.

Time passed and Goldpaw began to get bored. So, with a loud yawn, the golden tom got up from his spot and began to pad around the town, hoping that time would pass.

When he approached a building that had wind chimes swaying and playing in the wind, he heard a menacing growl from behind him. He turned around to see Kuan-Yin towering over him; the huge Tyrannosaurus crashed through the roof of the building with the wind chime. It roared in triumph, releasing orange energy from its mouth.

Seeing the energy come right at him, Goldpaw yelped as he planted his paws to the ground and created a similar blue shield-like sphere. It was like the made at the Southern AirClan camp where he found his dead mentor, Goldenstripe.

"Goldpaw, what the hell are you waiting for? Run!" That was Silverpaw yowling, urgency beating off from her.

But Goldpaw didn't move yet; instead he looked up and saw Kuan-Yin roar, dashing to another building, the safe house. Scared for his friends' lives, Goldpaw ran underneath it to get behind it. Then he grabbed onto its thick tail and began running up the dinosaur's back and he leaped onto its head.

As soon as he did that, Goldpaw's front paw began glowing with white stars and he looked down at the dinosaur...except that it wasn't a Tyrannosaurus that he was riding. Instead, he was riding on a black bear. Realizing about the spirit's true identity after seeing the statue in the wasteland, he leaped down to the ground of Kuan-Yin and he called to it to stop.

Kuan-Yin stopped and Goldpaw mewed, "You're the spirit of the destroyed forest, aren't you?" When the large therapod nodded, Goldpaw went on, "I understand now; because your home was destroyed, you've become angry and saddened. I, too, was sad and upset when I saw your home in ashes. But a special friend of mine gave me the gift of hope that the forest will grow back. In fact," he added as he smiled at the beast, "I'm already making a second Fourtrees for you."

The spirit had been standing still while Goldpaw was talking to it. When the Avatar Cat was finished, he took out the acorn that Silverpaw gave him yesterday from his orange bag and he laid it down at Kuan-Yin's feet. The giant therapod gave him a warm beam and picked up the acorn carefully in its sword-sharp teeth. Before Goldpaw's eyes, Kuan-Yin began to transform; he was shrinking, small ears poked out of his head, his front arms growing long, his hind legs shrinking, fur sprouting, and his tail almost gone as it shrunk to a stump.

In Kuan-Yin's place, there was a black bear with kind brown eyes. With a nod, the bear turned away from Goldpaw and began padding away from the village. As Goldpaw watched on with delight, Silverpaw and the other villagers padded outside to see the scene. Kuan-Yin then padded right out of the gate and, wriggling his ears, caused small oak saplings to grow at the entrance.

As soon as he left, a couple of confused-looking cats padded out from the saplings and into the town, Ashpaw at the front.

"Ashpaw! You're okay!" Silverpaw squealed with joy as she rubbed her face to her brother's. Around the, other villagers were embracing their once-lost loved ones.

Ashpaw gave a moan of dizziness, "Uh, what's going on?"

Silverpaw told him, "You've been trapped in StarClan's territory for the entire day! How do you feel?"

"For right now, I feel the feel to piss!" Ashpaw whimpered with a pained look on his face and he ran past her to one of the buildings.

**...**

A few minutes later, the black-pelted chief, the white tom, and their fellow villagers surrounded the three apprentices, ready to thank them for all the services they had done. Goldpaw felt proud at what he had done; he had stopped an upset spirit from destroying the town and he helped the spirit find hope again.

"We thank you from the bottom of our hearts, Avatar Cat Goldpaw," the chief mewed, gratitude in his voice. "I wish there was a way we could repay you."

Ashpaw stepped forward and spoke up, "Well, we could use some money and some supplies." Silverpaw nudged him on the shoulder angrily, but Ashpaw muttered back, "What? We need some supplies and money after all!"

The chief bowed to the ground and replied, "All right then, young ones. It would be a great honor to help you get ready for your travels." Then he and the villagers padded away from the cats, off to get certain supplies and money to assist them.

As soon as they left, Silverpaw rubbed her cheek against Goldpaw's cheek, mewing with pride, "Goldpaw, I'm so proud of you! You figured all this stuff out by yourself!"

Goldpaw rubbed the back of his head with his paws while his cheek turned a crimson color. He hadn't expected her to congratulate him like this and he wanted to relax in her warm praise. But he could not forget the meteor in his vision with the griffin.

"Well, I had a bit of help. And there's something I have to tell you two..."

After a few seconds of listening, Ashpaw told Goldpaw, "So what're you trying to say?"

"I've tried to find a way to talk to Whitestorm and I finally found a way to contact him."

"That's amazing, Goldpaw!" Silverpaw purred, pride in her blue eyes shining once again.

And Ashpaw was nodding slowly as he added, "It's creepy, but it IS amazing."

Goldpaw nodded and he remembered where Whitestorm's griffin had taken to him. He repeated the scene to his friends, "So there's a temple on the coast of an island in the shape of a crescent moon. If I go there at the solstice, I could talk to him!"

Silverpaw tipped her head to one side and she reminded him, "But the solstice is just one more sunrise away, Goldpaw."

The golden tom shuffled his paws, looked at them, and added sheepishly, "I know that. And the other problem is...the island is part of FireClan territory."

He knew they wouldn't be happy about it because he saw their blue eyes turn from a look of confusion to one of terror. They were going into FireClan territory to talk to the former Avatar Cat, he realized as the moon rose high over the mountains.

_To be continued..._

**...**

**AvatarCat11: I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving yesterday! And I hope everyone had a good time with eating all that food! As for me, I ate like a warthog!**

**Katara: Plus, Kuan-Yin is known as the Buddhist god of mercy, since we looked up the Chinese names. And there it was! Surprise, surprise! As for Thanksgiving, Aang and I enjoyed it with our other friends.**

**Holly: Me and the Courageous Seven also had a good Thanksgiving. But who wants to say the review and preview thing?**

**Katara: I will. (To the readers) Anyone who reviews this chapter will not only get a gift basket for Christmas, but they'll also get a plush doll for Scrat. He's the squirrel from the Ice Age movies since we saw that Ice Age Christmas special the other night.**

**Holly: And here's a preview for The Leaf-bare Solstice: Avatar Cat Whitestorm.**

**Preview: Goldpaw must reach the FireClan temple to talk with Whitestorm. Along the way, he and his pack have to avoid Bearclaw, Thornflare, and any other cat in the way.**

**AvatarCat11, Katara, and Holly: See ya next time!**


	10. Avatar Cat Whitestorm

**AvatarCat11: Thanksgiving is already over, but we're already decorating our house for Christmas. And that holiday is my favorite so far.**

**Holly: It's my favorite too. And I'm really glad you found my dagger for my Christmas gift.**

**Katara: Wait. I thought you lost it in a trade.**

**Holly: (Blushes at that) AvatarCat found it and gave it to me for Christmas last year.**

**Katara: Oh. And I remember that seaweed lotion AvatarCat got for me last year. (To AvatarCat11) How'd you know I liked it?**

**AvatarCat11: I heard it from somewhere. Now here's the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter own Avatar: The Last AirBender and Warrior Cats. Not me.**

**Summary: **

**Updating Date: November 28, 2011**

**AvatarCat11, Katara, and Holly: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Leaf-bare Solstice: Avatar Cat Whitestorm_

As the moon still hung over the town that our heroes had stayed at, Goldpaw tugged gallingly hard at Archie's reins. He had tried for ten whole minutes to try and get Archie to fly, but the white furry dragon didn't want to go to FireClan territory, even when they had to. No matter how hard he tried to pull, Archie refused to move from his spot.

Goldpaw tugged very hard at Archie and growled, "Come on, buddy! We have to go!"

"GGGRRR," Archie rumbled, backing away from his master.

The golden Avatar Cat stood face-to-face with Archie and told him, "Listen, Archie, I'm sorry about this. But Ashpaw and Silverpaw aren't coming with us to FireClan. And I won't forgive myself if they get killed," he added, looking to the ground with sadness. But when he looked up again, he snapped angrily, "So get your big ass off the ground and let's move!"

But the more he pulled hard on Archie's reins, the more the dragon backed away; he wouldn't even fall for the lure of fresh-kill his owner offered him. Goldpaw yanked on the chain so hard that Archie gave a roar and blew a gust of air at him, knocking him onto the ground. He gave a grunt of disappointment and glared helplessly at Archie.

"I think his big ass is trying to tell you something, Goldpaw."

Goldpaw whipped around to see Silverpaw and Ashpaw prowl to him, worry and fear in their differently colored blue eyes. _Well, here they go again, _Goldpaw sighed inwardly.

"He's right, Goldpaw," Silverpaw added, fear in her soft mew. "Please don't go. The world can't take it if FireClan kills you and..." She looked down to the ground, her fur and whiskers swaying in the chilly night wind. "...neither can I."

They had no idea what he was going through, so Goldpaw got up, shook the soil from his short-haired pelt, and meowed, "But I need to speak to Whitestorm about my vision! So this is my chance! The solstice is today and I have to get to the FireClan temple before the sun sets!"

Goldpaw turned his back on them and did a running leap to climb on Archie. He glanced upwards to see a small comet racing in the sky and he felt as if he had fallen into icy water. This reminded him about the giant meteor in his dream.

As he settled himself on Archie's head, who gave a growl of irascibility, he heard some pawsteps approach them. Goldpaw looked below to see the WaterClan cats blocking the way some kind of unknown emotions in their sapphire eyes. He guessed they weren't going to give up keeping him here so they wouldn't let him get killed.

"We can't let you go into FireClan, Goldpaw," rasped Silverpaw as she planted her paws to the ground.

"Yeah...not without your friends, anyways," Ashpaw purred, stepping forward and resting his paws onto Archie's nose. "We're in this together and we got your back no matter what!"

Silverpaw glanced at her littermate and gave him a nod and a smile while Tobias landed beside Goldpaw and let out a happy cry. Silverpaw immediately leaped onto Archie's nose and made her way up onto the dragon's saddle.

And when Ashpaw tried to climb up onto his muzzle, Archie quickly began licking his entire body with a long tongue the length of a young python. Ashpaw screeched with disgust before climbing back to Archie's saddle.

After all three cats and the hawk were on top of Archie, the black-pelted chief of the village padded to them with a parcel in his jaws. He laid them onto the ground before Archie and meowed to Goldpaw, "It's a long way to Crescent Moon Island, young ones. Fly as quickly as you can to get to the temple before the end of the day. And good luck."

"Thank you, sir, for all..." Goldpaw started to reply.

"Go!"

The black cat pointed his tail away from the town. Giving him a nod, Goldpaw gave the order for Archie to go; the white reptile lifted himself off the ground and flew off into the direction of the moon.

**...**

Bearclaw and Irontail were riding on two of their Komodo dragons as they rode into the village that they decided to follow directions. Bearclaw noticed a black cat padding leisurely out of a building and beginning to yawn.

Believing this cat could have met the Avatar Cat, Bearclaw leaped off of his Komodo dragon and leaped right in front of the old cat's way. "So did you have a nightmare or what?"

When the tom didn't answer, for he was too alarmed to speak, Bearclaw seized him by the scruff in his jaws and pinned him to the ground, growling, "So have you seen the Avatar Cat around here? 'Cause I haven't. Now where is he?"

**...**

The sun was now high in the air as Archie flew above the ocean with Goldpaw telling Archie to hurry up. Both Silverpaw and Ashpaw gave each other anxious looks as Goldpaw kept jumping on his head and was yelping out orders like mad.

"Archie, let's get a move on!" Goldpaw demanded the dragon as he raced to Archie's face and tapped him on the eyelids. "We've still got the rest of the day left to travel! Now let's go!"

His dragon growled in assent and pumped his long tail repeatedly to get some more speed going as they swooped onwards out at the ocean.

(**Author's Note: This will keep switching in between the POVs of Goldpaw and Bearclaw. And Thornflare will have his POV soon. But for now, here's Bearclaw!)**

Bearclaw looked out beyond the ocean from his metal-made FireClan ship with a telescope. He had been given directions from the old black cat from the village as he told the dark tabby about where the Avatar Cat was heading: to the previous Avatar Cat's temple. He didn't kill the chief after that; Bearclaw just shoved him down one more time, then he let him go.

The dark brown tabby tom felt the cool sea wind tickle his fur, but he fought it off.

"Sailing into FireClan's marine territory..."

The exiled FireClan cat turned to see Irontail pad to him with frustration and concern blazing in his amber eyes and his tail twitching in a fearful manner. He wished his uncle would hold his tongue until they reached the temple, but there was no stopping Irontail when he began his talks. Besides, this could be a great time to capture the Avatar Cat, so he didn't find anything wrong with sailing across the sea to the FireClan temple.

"Bearclaw, of all the mouse-brained things you have ever done in the two years of your life, this is the most mouse-brained of them all!" Irontail ranted to his nephew.

"I have no choice, Uncle Irontail. I have to go on through."

With that said, he turned back to his telescope and gave a few orders to the guard to his right. The tabby cat nodded to Bearclaw and padded away to the place under the deck of the ship.

Irontail thrashed his tail with anger as he snapped, "Why in StarClan's name have you forgotten what Darkstar did to you as he drove you out of the Clan? What if you get taken as a prisoner?"

Bearclaw turned away from the telescope as he replied, "Well, look at this side of the story: I'm chasing the Avatar Cat, right? Father will be aware of why I'm coming back to the Clan."

"You're giving him too much credit, mouse-brain!" Irontail retorted heatedly as he began pacing nervously up and down the deck. "My younger brother is not an understanding cat! Don't say I didn't warn you!"

His nephew rolled his eyes, peeked through the telescope once again and looked around in the sky for a few minutes. The sight that he saw in the sky was unmistakable: it was the Avatar Cat's flying dragon. There was the Avatar Cat on its head, his golden fur turning into fire in the harsh leaf-bare sunlight. And there were the silver she-cat and the dark gray tabby tom with him.

"I found them! Helms-cat!" Bearclaw yowled to the gray helms-cat. "Make this shape go the fastest it can!"

The gray cat nodded before racing away to the bottom of the ship and before long, they were already having the ship sail faster through the water, faster than a mako shark.

From far away, Bearclaw heard the silver she-cat meow to the Avatar Cat, "Goldpaw, we got company. And it's the bad kind." He could hear them because when he had nearly lost his sight and hearing, his senses began to develop quickly, including his hearing.

"Yeah, and they're catching up!" the dark gray cat added, panic in his mew.

Several other cats wheeled a big catapult to the deck and it had a skunk-scented rock at the end of it. However, some of the cats recoiled at the stench and some of them rushed to the edges of the ship to lose their lunch.

Even Irontail didn't like the stench, for he complained, "Seriously, Bearclaw? Fireballs? Just shoot them down with something more pleasant-smelling!"

Ignoring his uncle's complaining, Bearclaw shot at the rock with a jet of flame from his mouth and the rock was set on fire. Rearing onto his hind legs and turning to his warriors, he howled, "On my mark...and...launch!"

One cat, a gray-&-brown cat, cut the catapult's rope with his front claws. And the fiery projectile was hurtled into the air right at the Avatar Cat and his ragtag pack.

**(Goldpaw's POV)**

While Goldpaw kept his eyes on the path ahead of them, he heard Silverpaw howl, "There's a fireball coming at us!"

"I'm on it!" Goldpaw called back, giving Archie's reins a hard pull.

The dragon immediately moved to one side as the fireball sailed past them over their heads and the three cats and Archie were unharmed. However, there was a repulsive smell that wafted to them and it smelled like a smoldering dead skunk.

All three cats covered their noses with their front feet and they laid low down on the saddle. Silverpaw lowered her head to the saddle and held her paws in front of her nose while Ashpaw curled into a ball to keep the stench away.

Silverpaw sputtered while laying down, "Goldpaw, we gotta get away from Bearclaw before he launches another mound of fiery shit at us!"

"Yeah, can't Archie go faster?" Ashpaw added. His whiskers were quivering with disgust at the stench.

Goldpaw looked around them as he still held his nose with one of his paws and mewed, "We could do that, but we can't because we got another problem."

He pointed with his other paw at the blockage up ahead. There were many ships blocking the way with catapults lined up and facing them. On the tip where items got tossed away, there were fireballs the size of a small rhino.

**(Bearclaw's POV)**

"It's a FireClan blockade!" Bearclaw snarled with dismay.

_How the hell are we going to get around that? _he added quietly to himself.

Bearclaw looked into the telescope again to have a better view of the ocean with a double line of FireClan war ships stretching out on the horizon. He let the telescope zoom in on the deck of one of the war ships: it was lined with trebuchets.

"Hmmm..." Irontail muttered thoughtfully as he licked a forepaw and swiped it over one of his ears, "I know you're still in FireClan's oceanic part of their territory. You cannot let them capture you, so turn the ship around now."

Bearclaw whipped around to glower at his uncle, but he didn't reply; instead, he gave another snort and looked back toward the Avatar Cat on his Asian Lung dragon.

**(Goldpaw's POV)**

After the horrid skunk-stench was gone, Goldpaw leaped back onto Archie's head and began scouting around the scene from his perch. There were indeed rows and rows of FireClan ships blocking their way as they prepared to attack the young AirClan apprentice.

"I've got an idea, you two," Goldpaw mewed to the two WaterClan siblings without turning around. "We'll fly north of here and we'll be able to get around the blockade and avoid the FireClan ships."

Silverpaw objected, "But there won't be any time, Goldpaw!"

Goldpaw whipped around at them, gave them a hiss, and retorted icily, "Now you see why this is dangerous? That's why you didn't want to come along!"

"But that's why we're here: to help you," Silverpaw meowed, her voice hardening with purpose. Life on the road seemed to have turned the silver-furred cat from a weak she-cat into a brave warrior.

"Yeah!" Ashpaw added, his eyes glittered with excitement. "Let's knock that blockade out!"

_I couldn't agree with you more, Ashpaw. _Goldpaw nodded agreeably at his two friends and turned his gaze back onto the FireClan naval ships ahead of Archie.

"Yip yip!"

His animal guide gave an affirmative roar and soared on ahead, charging with the agility and speed of a peregrine falcon. Whether they like it or not, nothing was going to stop them from getting to Whitestorm's temple. There was one exception, however...

**(Bearclaw's POV)**

The dark brown tabby tom gave a hiss of frustration when the dragon didn't turn around and straight at him and his warriors. He was hoping the large beast would look down and charge towards them. Instead, it gave a roar and dashed on ahead through the air at the FireClan blockade.

_They're not turning around._

"Bearclaw, I beg of you!" Irontail's voice was thick with concern for the safety of his nephew. "I won't be able to do anything if FireClan captures you for this! For the last time, do not go after the Avatar Cat!"

That was true, for Irontail could get arrested. _But I have to regain my honor to be the FireClan deputy. I have to do this._

Bearclaw bowed his head and muttered, "I'm sorry, Uncle, but I have to do this." He lifted his head and faced the helms-cat as he yowled, "Run through that blockade!"

But there was someone waiting for them...

**...**

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Avatar Cat. And the banished FireClan warrior has come also!"

Thornflare had been looking from the Avatar Cat's pet dragon and the small FireClan ship sailing right at them. It was HE who was in charge of calling an entire blockade to deny entrance into the heart of FireClan. That was so that outsiders wouldn't harm them from the inside.

The stumpy-tailed cat gave an evil smirk. "Looks like I'm having my own good-luck day today!"

"Sir," a brown-&-gray cat interrupted him as he padded nervously to the FireClan senior warrior. "Tell us what your orders are."

"Shoot the dragon down until it's dead," Thornflare meowed calmly as he turned around to face the younger tomcat.

The brown-&-gray cat mewed with worry, "Sir, there is one of us out there, a FireClan ship coming to us. What'll we do if it gets hit?"

Thornflare just gave a snort of contempt at the mention of his younger rival, who was a threat to his position to be the deputy. "If it gets hit, do not rescue it."

As the younger cat squeaked with shock, the dark brown tom added with the same tone, "That ship belongs to a rogue anyways."

Thornflare shoved the cat away with his shoulder to tell him to get back to his post. He turned around towards a FireBender standing ready at a catapult. "Ignite now," he demanded.

As the FireBender ignited a skunk-rock at the end of the catapult, Thornflare glared at all the others, who quickly ignited their skunk-rocks on their catapults. "Launch!"

At the sound of his command, a lot of fireballs shot out from different sides from behind the FireClan tom. Not only that, but some were even launched at the Avatar Cat.

**...**

Goldpaw got very worried when he saw the barrage of fireballs come at him and Bearclaw's ship. He wasn't worried about the dark brown tabby tom at the moment; he could take care of himself. He was more worried about getting himself and his friends to safety.

He and his friends screeched with terror as a lot of fireballs launched themselves at the three apprentices. Immediately, because of his fear of fire, Archie swerved to one side and avoided the barrage coming at him. Goldpaw grabbed onto the dragon's reins with his teeth and yanked them around to help Archie dodge the balls of fire.

But one fireball had come at them while they were distracted and it grazed across Archie's back, making him roar in pain. Silverpaw, Ashpaw, and Tobias rushed to his rescue by stomping their paws (feet for Tobias) on the bits of flame appearing on Archie's white fur while Archie growled with anger and pain.

"Archie! You okay, buddy?" Goldpaw called down to his face.

His animal guide replied with an affirmative growl and surged forward as angrily as a male bison.

**(Bearclaw's POV)**

Fireball after fireball launched themselves over Bearclaw's head as he observed the battlefield. One warrior was leaping from one part of the ship to avoid them while another was hit full-on and was killed on the spot. As the ship was rocked by waves created by the fireballs hitting the water close to the ship, one fireball landed extremely close to the ship and produced a wave that broke across the deck. Another fireball hit the back part of the ship and Bearclaw braced himself against the catapult.

Deciding not to stay out here for too long, he began making his way cautiously to the back of the ship. Bearclaw heard a voice call to him and he turned to see who it was: it was the black-&-gray furred engine master. The engine master pointed to the billowing fire and smoke behind him with his tail.

"Sir, the engines have become damaged! Let's stop this ship and make some prepares!"

"We're not stopping this ship!" Bearclaw spat at him as he warily made his way back to the front of the ship.

When the ship got very close to the blockade, he heard Thornflare call, "Launch!" And fireballs were launched right at him.

**(Goldpaw's POV)**

Each FireClan ship launched one fireball at a time at Archie, but many fireballs were too much for him. While Goldpaw was still trying hard to help his friend dodge the fireballs, twelve more fireballs shot through the clouds at them, smoke trailing along behind them. Archie swerved to the side to dodge them, but more were still coming at them and they were as numerous as rats. The three cats screeched with alarm when Archie swerved dangerously to the side.

While fireballs were still launched at them, two of them collided in the air and exploded right in front of them. Archie let out a bellow of fear and reared upward to avoid the burning flying piece of fire. But while he swiftly bucked up and down, Ashpaw was accidentally thrown off of the dragon, and he was falling nearly out of sight.

"ASHPAW!" Both Goldpaw and Silverpaw screamed his name very loudly.

Goldpaw pulled Archie's reins hard and his pet dashed quickly downwards to the falling dark gray tabby tom before he could fall into the ocean. The white beast of burden got underneath him and Silverpaw leaped upwards to grab her brother by the scruff and pull him back onto Archie. When the wind threatened to blow them away, Goldpaw formed a barrier of wind around him and his friends so they couldn't get blown away.

With that done, Archie landed on the water with all four feet and he rose again as if he were in a giant spider web. While they had landed in the water, a large tuna had fallen on board and was flopping on top of Ashpaw's head. But Tobias swooped over him and caught the large fish in his talons and got back on board to eat.

As the fireballs continued to be launched and Archie continued to evade them, Goldpaw became very determined to avoid the flaming rocks at all times. _We have to make it Whitestorm's temple before they get to US!_

"Get ready!"

An unfamiliar voice rang out at the other ships and he saw a dark brown cat with cruel amber eyes and a stumpy tail facing Archie. Goldpaw would have laughed at this cat's stubby tail if the situation wasn't so calamitous.

When they got very close enough, the brown tom screeched, "Fire!"

A single fireball launched at them and Goldpaw felt rage cloak around him. He felt power rise deep inside of him and leaped at the fireball, curling into a ball and hurtling at the fireball. He had learned from Goldenstripe that this attack was the Zetsu Tenrou Battouga, the attack of a lion, and only the Avatar Cats could learn it. A non-Avatar Cat learning it would be rare.

Anyways, Goldpaw picked up the spinning pace with AirBending and ripped into the center of the approaching fireball. The fireball exploded from the inside out as a result of Goldpaw's Battouga. However, there was a cost of this attack: it could drain half of his energy away. That was because the result of the explosion blew him back as a winter wind would blow a bird away and he landed back onto Archie's shoulders.

At once, Silverpaw and Ashpaw grabbed his scruff and carefully laid him down onto the saddle. Finally, the domesticated dragon sailed through the blockade without any more trouble. Goldpaw looked up wearily and he rasped with happiness in his voice:

"We made it..."

Ashpaw and Silverpaw had amazing looks on their faces as Ashpaw sputtered with elation, "I don't believe it! We got through that damn blockade...great," he finished with disappointment as he slumped his shoulders.

Goldpaw looked weakly back at the dark brown cat as a brown-&-gray cat came up to him and asked him, "Thornflare, where are the Avatar Cat and his pack going?"

Thornflare bowed his head and he muttered, "Even if that attack made him weak, I'm not sure where he'll go. But I'm sure a certain dark brown tabby traitor knows," he added scornfully.

**(Bearclaw's POV)**

Bearclaw's ship sailed swiftly at Thornflare's much bigger ship as it went the fastest it can. All of a sudden, however, more ships came to block his way and crash his ship, even though some cats would die.

"We're on a collusion course, nephew!" Irontail wailed to his kin.

"But we can make it!" Bearclaw retorted unwaveringly as they arrived at the entrance of the blockade. He saw another ship align itself to Thornflare's ship as a large group of FireBenders stood at parade rest behind Thornflare.

**(Author's Note: What do they do to do that?)**

Their leader snapped to attention and spoke to Bearclaw's rival. He was imploring to him sternly, "Thornflare, we're ready to arrest Bearclaw."

But, to Bearclaw's surprise, Thornflare waved his short tail frivolously and answered, "Let them pass for now. Cut the engine."

Without another fuss, Bearclaw's small ship slid easily through the blockade with pure ease. But before they parted ways for now, Bearclaw and Thornflare spotted one another and glared at each other with willpower in their golden and tawny eyes. Irontail stared back at the blockade fading into the distance. He looked pensive and twitched with tail as he began thinking.

He and Bearclaw were not sure what to make of Thornflare's move.

**...**

Archie was flying through the FireClan aerial territory as he grunted and continued flying. It was already sunset as Goldpaw, Silverpaw, Ashpaw, and Tobias relaxed on his back, although Tobias was resting on his master's worn out body.

Goldpaw let out a yawn and was ready to fall asleep when he suddenly jolted up from his sleepiness as he saw a familiar place: a crescent shaped island appearing through the clouds. In the center of the crescent island was a great active volcano, red hot fire and thick black steam belching forth from its cone. There were a few patches of beach around the sides of the large volcano.

He felt joy rise inside him as he remembered the place where Whitestorm's griffin took him to. _We made it!_

Out loud, he called to his friends, "Whitestorm's island is right up ahead, you two!"

Within a few minutes, Archie had landed on the coast of the island and landed tiredly onto his side. "Great flying job, old friend. You did it," he purred to Archie and he patted his pet on the top of the head.

While he patted Archie on the head, Silverpaw padded over to them and rubbed Archie's soft belly with her front paws, cooing to him, "Aww. Are you tired, you poor lovable thing?"

"Nope, I'm all set," came Ashpaw's grunting response as he stretched his muscles. He was obviously thinking that his sister was talking to him right now.

"Ashpaw, you dumbass, I was just talking to Archie," Silverpaw growled, turning to face him with a dry look on her face.

Ashpaw had stopped in the middle of some push-ups as he got up and retorted, "Well, just to let you know, _I_ was just talking to Tobias!"

He turned to Tobias, who was sitting on a nearby small tree and regurgitating some fish bones from his gullet. When he heard his name, the hawk stared quizzically at the dark gray WaterClan tom.

A few minutes later, Goldpaw, Ashpaw, Silverpaw, and Tobias went ahead and left Archie at the coast until they got back. They prowled alongside a winding path as they headed carefully to the large temple that laid ahead of them.

Ashpaw lifted his nose in the air and sniffed the scents around him, informing the two other cats, "I don't scent any FireBenders anywhere."

"Maybe FireClan left the temple after Whitestorm passed away," Silverpaw reasoned.

Goldpaw looked outwards at the sunset sky; it was nearly time for the solstice to arrive. He hoped they would make it before sunset, but maybe they could make it before night fell.

"It's nearly dusk," he reminded them sternly. "Let's hurry up."

With that, he leaped over the wall to the FireClan temple and the two WaterClan cats followed the AirClan tom over the wall. It wasn't a challenge for Tobias, who flew over it with ease. But as for Archie, it would have been hard for a dragon to go over the wall, for he would crush it with his large weight.

When they got inside, the three apprentices decided to tip-toe their way through the temple. They kept looking from left to right just in case if some guards, if there were any at all, came looking for them. They were already successful at this sneaking business until...

"I hear something," Ashpaw told the other two.

They turned around to see five FireClan elders stalking toward them. The lead one was a pale tabby, the other two were gray, and the last two were red, one having black spots speckled onto his fur. They looked remotely alike, thus possible making them littermates.

The pale tabby tom hissed, "We are the FireClan Elder-Sages who guard the temple of the Avatar Cat."

All three cats gave him a confused look before Goldpaw padded forward and mewed, "Sir, I'm the current Avatar Cat. So that's a good thing!"

"We know," the tabby retorted before kinking his tail around.

Suddenly, with fierce snarls, the FireClan Elder-Sages took a FireBending stance and flung jets of fire at him. Even though they were elders, they seemed to be strong; besides, Goldpaw and his small pack were outnumbered. Goldwing stepped in between his friends just in case the elders decided to attack his friends.

Nothing was going to stop them from getting to Whitestorm.

Nothing at all.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Three fireballs were launched at Goldpaw as he stood his ground, unable to move. Behind him, Silverpaw and Ashpaw were cringing at the sight of the fire getting near them. Goldpaw remembered the scene at the Southern WaterClan when fire was coming at the WaterClan cats and he didn't want the same thing to happen to his friends.

When the fireballs got nearer, Goldpaw braced himself and stood in an AirBending pose as he blew them away with a large breath of air from his mouth. He whipped around to his friends and hissed, "You guys run! I'll hold 'em off!"

He nodded determinedly at another corridor and the two WaterClan apprentices ran off in that direction. He crouched low to the ground and swiped a pawful of sand from the ground and blew it with AirBending at the Elder-Sages' faces, temporarily blinding them. As they were blinded, all five elders had charged at him and hit their heads together. They reared backwards and fell to the floor as they writhed and howled with agony.

Goldpaw gave a snort at them and dashed off to join his friends, who had been waiting for him. He was furious at them for not running when they had to, but now wasn't the time to bite their heads off for this. So he gave a warning yowl and led them down the corridor. He could hear the elders grunt as they picked themselves off the floor and he heard the tabby's shout:

"That kit will become powerful if he gets to Whitestorm! Capture him when you find them!"

As they continued running down several corridors, Goldpaw accidentally found a dead end and he hit the wall. Silverpaw and Ashpaw tried to slow themselves down, but it was too late. They crashed into Goldpaw and all three cats were in a pile of golden and gray fur.

"Follow me!" Goldpaw ordered, picking himself up and dashing into another direction.

"Uh, do you really know where you're going?" Ashpaw countered with frustration in his glare as he picked himself off the ground and groomed his fore leg.

Goldpaw shook his head, saying, "No."

Ignoring a growl from his dark gray friend, Goldpaw continued running down the hall. Silverpaw and Ashpaw followed him as Tobias flew above the three apprentices.

They went into a second dead end and they saw one of the Elder-Sages, the dark red tom with the black spots on his coat. There was some kind of emotion in his amber eyes that Goldpaw didn't have time to see, for he spun around to run away from him.

"Stop! Come back!" the red tom called after him, but Goldpaw didn't want to listen or turn around. _What does this guy think I am? A mouse begging to be caught?_

He met up with Silverpaw, Ashpaw, and Tobias at the entrance of the dead end, kinked his tail toward the elder, and the three ran off together with Tobias soaring over their heads. They had tried many times after that to lose the tracker behind them as they tried to find their destination until they came to a final dead end.

Immediately, they heard a voice mew earnestly behind them, "Please, I don't want to hurt you three."

They whipped around to see that the dark red tom with the black-spotted fur had followed them to the dead end. Not believing a single word that the elder was saying, Goldpaw and his friends arched their backs and began hissing at him as their fur fluffed up to make them look bigger and normal. The red tom cringed at this, but he didn't look scared at all.

"Last time I checked, FireClan cats aren't our friends!" Ashpaw snarled, his claws sliding out to their fullest.

The red tom padded very cautiously to them and, to their shock, bowed to the ground in front of them. Goldpaw saw it at once: the elder was bowing to him! Then he remembered the look in his eyes and he suddenly realized he was ignoring the reverence and urgency in his amber gaze.

"I am Redspots, one of the FireClan Elder-Sages. I know why you are here, Avatar Cat," the tomcat rasped.

Goldpaw relaxed and flicked his tail at his friends to do the same. "You do?"

Redspots nodded and meowed, "I do. You wish to talk with Whitestorm in StarClan. It would be an honor to take you to him, young cat."

The three cats gave him a confused glance, so Redspots reared up to his hind legs, leaned onto the wall, and turned the light fixture. The fixture was a lever, which he pulled down. Behind the fixture was a small hole in the wall. Redspots took a deep breath and shot fire through the hole with his fore paw. Fire framed one of the panels in the wall.

Finally, the wall fell apart to reveal a stairway path that went deep into the mountain of the island. Redspots kinked his tail to the hole and mewed to them, "Come with me. Time's running out!"

The three young cats gave each other a positive nod and padded into the tunnel. Following right behind them, Redspots quickly led them down the stairway. Before they went on, he pushed yet another button and the opening closed so the other elders wouldn't follow and seize them. When this was done

**...**

Bearclaw unsheathed his claws with agitation as his damaged ship went onward to Whitestorm's island. He was thinking about why Thornflare let him pass and didn't arrest him, but the stumpy-tailed warrior had some kind of look in his eyes when he and Bearclaw glared at one another.

Bearclaw hissed to Irontail loudly while glaring at the deck, "What the hell is that cat up to? Why didn't Thornflare take me as a prisoner, Uncle?"

"He's planning on following you when you got a good distance away from him," the gray tabby tom replied, anxiety in his tawny gaze as he looked at Bearclaw. "Thornflare knew you would lead him to your target as well as his: the Avatar Cat."

"Well, if he wants follow the smoke from our ship," Bearclaw growled as he looked up to his uncle, resolution in his mew, "then we'll let him have it."

Then Bearclaw waved his tail for the helms-cat to speed the boat up some more. He turned away from him to look outwards toward the sun setting over the surface of the water, turning it to the color of blood.

**...**

Goldpaw and his friends looked around in awe as Redspots led them on. The red-furred elder was padding down the stairs and into a vast and cavernous system of tunnels. The four cats and the hawk continued to pad (and glide, for Tobias) through the tunnels, the live magma from the volcano to their right.

"This island temple was once Whitestorm's home," Redspots began meowing as they continued padding through the hall. "He created this entire tunnel out of lava using only one paw!"

Goldpaw nodded as he watched the magma swirl around slowly in a pool of lava. "Sir, were you friends with Whitestorm? Did you know him?"

The dark red tom shook his head and he responded, "No. I wasn't his friend. But my grandfather knew him, for he was his mentor." As he walked on, he turned to face him as he went on, "For generations, the FireClan Elder-Sages had guarded this temple long before I was kitted. We all have a strong sense of spirituality connected to this place."

"Is that how you knew I'd come?" Goldpaw asked him.

"Well, there was something else," Redspots mewed, looking back to the path but unable to hide his excitement. "Something incredible happened just a half-moon ago. Avatar Cat Whitestorm's statue's eyes began glowing white! It was amazing!"

"That happened when we were at the Southern AirClan Camp Temple!" Silverpaw spoke up, awe seeping into her mew. "The eyes of the statue of Whitestorm there were also glowing!"

Goldpaw stopped walking and turned to face her with wonder. She never told him the statue was glowing white! But he wished he didn't go into the Avatar Cat State when he saw Goldenstripe's skeleton. If he was calm, he would have asked Silverpaw about what happened in the Sanctuary.

Redspots was nodding as he replied, "Of course it would glow, young WaterClan cat." Turning to Goldpaw, he added, "When we saw the statue glow, we knew you came back to the world."

There was one thing that confused Goldpaw: the other Elder-Sages. He asked the Elder-Sage, "Why did your friends attack us if this is the Avatar Cat's temple?"

Redspots gave a sigh as he padded along and mewed, "Things have changed for fourteen years and it's been fourteen years since Whitestorm died. Other FireClan cats want others to believe you were gone for thirty years, to spread propaganda. Anyways, back then, we were loyal only to the Avatar Cat, and when Whitestorm died, we had been hoping for the Avatar Cat to come. He never came," he added, letting out another long sigh.

"They needed me and waited for me," Goldpaw moaned sadly, leaning against the tunnel wall. They were all waiting for him and he let them down by running away. He couldn't stand to look at himself for a few days.

"Relax, Goldpaw. Don't feel bad," Ashpaw reassured his golden friend. He padded up to him, laid his tail onto his shoulder, and added for a laugh, "You're just fourteen years late, that's all."

Far from comforting him, that made Goldpaw angry as he glared at Ashpaw and shoved the dark gray tabby tom's tail away from him. But Redspots dashed forward and put himself between the two apprentices in case they started fighting. When they stopped hissing, he went on with his story:

"The point is that they lost hope that the Avatar Cat would come back. When Shadowstar rose to become our leader, he forced my grandfather and the other Elder-Sages to obey him and be loyal to him only." He shook his head in dismay as he added, his voice filled with sadness, "I never want to obey the leader of FireClan. When you came back to us, I knew I would have to betray my companions."

Goldpaw cheered up a little; Redspots seemed to be a good ally to have around and he was very grateful. He dipped his head toward the kind FireClan elder and mewed to him, "Thank you for helping me, Redspots."

In return, Redspots gave a warm smile in his direction and he bowed before the Avatar Cat. Like his ancestors before him, he was showing respect.

**...**

As the four cats and Tobias went onward through the tunnel, they had approached a set of stairs going to the roof of the tunnel. The stairs were around a head taller than the cats so, they had to climb the stairs...literally. But it wasn't a problem for Tobias, who flew to the top of the stairs until he wasn't seen for now.

"We'll climb these stairs up to the sanctuary," Redspots told them before grabbing Ashpaw's scruff in his jaws and hauling him up some stairs. The gray tom had some trouble with climbing them until he was used to it. "Wait for the statue to light up once you get inside, Goldpaw," he added to Goldpaw, who was going up with Silverpaw. "Only then will you speak with him."

When they reached Tobias at the top, Redspots pressed his paw to the roof and shoved it up. The light of the sunset beamed down to them and they had to blink several times. They had been used to walking in the dark tunnels by now, so the light was quite a surprise.

When Redspots climbed up through the hole, Goldpaw could hear him wail with dismay, "No! Damn it!"

"What's wrong, Redspots?" Goldpaw asked him. He leaped up through the hole to stand next to the dark red black-spotted tom.

"The sanctuary doors...they're closed!" Redspots mewed and pointed to the huge doors. They were indeed closed.

Silverpaw leaped up to the room and padded after Goldpaw and Redspots while they went right up to the door. She asked the dark red tom, "Can't you open the door like you did for that hall back there?"

Redspots shook his head. "The only cat powerful enough to open that door is a fully realized Avatar Cat. If he or she isn't around here, all five FireClan Elder-Sages will have to combine FireBending blasts together to open the door."

As Ashpaw joined up with them at the door, he suddenly began scratching his ear thoughtfully. When he wasn't itching from fleas, he would often scratch his ear to think about something. He looked up at the door and began muttering to himself so low that Goldpaw could almost hear him.

"Five FireBending blasts, eh?" Suddenly, he stopped scratching his ear, looked up at them with his eyes shining, and meowed, "I think I got a plan you're gonna like!"

**...**

Smoke was still pouring out of the damaged rear engine of Bearclaw's ship. The dark brown tabby tom had ordered his warriors to open the back hatch of the ship to reveal a miniature vessel. They set it in the water and it began floating away from the ship and away from the sunset.

Bearclaw turned to his uncle as they watched the vessel. "Just keep going northwards, Uncle Irontail. I'll use the smoke trail as a cover-up while Thornflare follows it and moves away from us."

On the other paw, Irontail just grunted, twitched his tail, and shook his head curtly at this plan. Bearclaw chose to ignore that attitude problem his uncle had developed about entering FireClan, so he just turned around to glare at the sunset again. Bearclaw could imagine Thornflare finding the vessel and looking through his little excuse of a telescope.

_But at least it'll sidetrack him long enough so that I can get to my destination._

He then heard Irontail mutter, "Hmm..."

**...**

Goldpaw, Silverpaw, Tobias, and Redspots surrounded Ashpaw as the dark gray apprentice began filling up some little sacks. Well, Tobias was sitting on Ashpaw's shoulders.

"Emberstar taught me this just a day before I became an apprentice," Ashpaw meowed as he filled up a few more sacks. "I dump some burnable grease into skin casings made of walrus hides, Redspots sets fire to the grease-soaked string, and VOILA! We got fake FireBending!"

Silverpaw nudged her brother warmly on the shoulder with hers as she praised him, "You did great, Ashpaw!"

Redspots was nodding at the sacks as he told Ashpaw, "You know what? It might actually work."

Giving him a nod, Ashpaw stuffed the animal skin sacks into the mouths of the five gold tiger heads guarding the door to the sanctuary. Then, he dashed away to join the others behind the nearest pillars so that they could be protected from the big blasts.

Goldpaw held his breath of excitement as Redspots padded up to the door and informed the three cats, "From here, the FireClan Elder-Sages will hear the explosions. As soon as the doors open up, you jump in like a fox is after you."

"So you ready, Goldpaw?" Silverpaw asked Goldpaw.

"Yeah."

Goldpaw was getting very close to his objective by every second. He couldn't wait to see Whitestorm and ask him about the meteor in his vision where the griffin had shown him at. He sent a prayer of thanks to StarClan as Redspots got closer to the door, his amber eyes filled with anticipation.

Suddenly, Redspots dashed forward and bit down onto the string with flames surrounding his teeth. While he did that, he sent a small stream of fire past the five tiger heads and the string ignited. He quickly leaped backwards to join Goldpaw at his pillar while Ashpaw, with hope, bit down on Silverpaw's tail. He bit down a little so hard that a few drops of blood trickled out of the wound and she let out a squeak of surprise.

"Sorry," Ashpaw mewed, grabbing a cobweb from a corner and putting it on her tail.

Then at once, the small bombs went off and smoke began filling the chamber up. Letting out a yelp of joy, Goldpaw leaped out from behind the pillar and head-butted the door...and it wouldn't open. Then he tried pulling on the handles, but the door STILL wouldn't open.

All of the joy fading away, Goldpaw moaned, "Shit! The door's still locked!"

"It didn't work," Redspots mewled sadly.

The sun outside disappeared over the ocean and night had settled itself over the land. Goldpaw sunk to the floor and whimpered at the failed attempt. Now they could never open the door and talk to Whitestorm.

_Now what do we do?_

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

"Why the hell...won't...they open!" Goldpaw growled, head-butting the doors for the tenth time.

He had already stopped whimpering, for he had been whimpering for just a few seconds when the sun began to fall very slowly before snarling. At this, he got up and started to headbutt the doors. Silverpaw, Ashpaw, Tobias, and Redspots were staring at him with disbelief in their eyes until Silverpaw stepped forward.

"Stop it, Goldpaw!" she pleaded with him, grabbing his tail in her jaws and pulling him back. "We can't do anything else!"

Goldpaw turned around to face her, dropped his head, and muttered, "I'm very sorry, guys. I shouldn't have put you through this."

While Silverpaw tried to comfort the young golden cat, Ashpaw stepped forward to the doors and traced his paw through the soot produced by the blasts. Tobias cawed and walked to him to look over the tiger faces.

"What the hell happened?" he muttered with bewilderment in his pale blue eyes. "Those blasts were as strong as and FireBending I've ever seen!"

Suddenly, Silverpaw's dark blue eyes lit up with some kind of understanding as she replied to her brother, "You're a genius, Ashpaw!"

"But his plan didn't work. So how does that make him a genius?" Goldpaw asked her. The plan did indeed fail, so how could Silverpaw look so happy about the plan failing? This world must be crazier than he thought before he was frozen.

Ashpaw seemed to look confident immediately as he nudged Goldpaw's shoulder with his while he meowed with assurance, "Dude, just let her dream."

"You're right, Goldpaw," Silverpaw meowed to Goldpaw, joining her littermate. "Ashpaw's plan _did_ fail...or it that it did." She looked on at the doors with the soot plastered onto them.

Goldpaw didn't answer at first, but after staring at her for a few seconds, he mewed rhetorically, "Is it me, or...did the word 'genius' change over these fourteen years?"

**...**

Redspots had already led the other four FireClan Elder-Sages through the tunnels and out into the sanctuary room. Goldpaw prayed to StarClan for Ashpaw to get this plan right, because if they fail again...he wouldn't want to think about that. Right now, they could only wait and see what would happen next.

"Hurry, you four!" Redspots called to the other elders, entering the sanctuary. He had pretended to be on their side again and Goldpaw hoped the dark red tom wouldn't get caught helping him. "The Avatar Cat has already entered the sanctuary!"

"How in the name of Darkstar did he get in?" one of the elders, a gray tabby, hissed with worry.

Redspots shrugged and pointed to the sooty door, mewing, "I don't know. But look at the doors and under the cracks!" He pointed again to the doors; there was a shadow with two feet strolling around back and forth. "See? He's inside! We have to open them together now before he contacts Whitestorm!"

While he was speaking, Redspots gave a wink to Goldpaw, who nodded back with relief while standing on the statue of a griffin. Not all FireClan cats could be bad, but he was still doubtful. What if the plan failed just like the fake FireBending part? That was one scene he didn't want to live through again. He slowly inched his way to the floor, ready to run the minute the FireClan Elder-Sages open the doors.

Goldpaw spotted the five Fire Sages in FireBending pose. They suddenly shot five fire blasts into the tigers' heads on the face of the door. Smoke appeared around the door jambs and as the fire blasts worked their way through the lock, the doors began to groan and open slowly. The light from the interior of the sanctuary was initially blinding, as blinding as the sun.

As it began to dissipate, the FireClan Elder-Sages spotted a lone Tobias inside the sanctuary. The red-tailed hawk let out a burp and looked quizzically at them with wide green eyes.

**(Author's Note: I don't know how a hawk burps, so go along with this.)**

The pale tabby elder hissed with anger, "That's the Avatar Cat's hawk! It must've flown right through the window! We've been tricked!"

"Tricked!" a dark tabby screeched.

"We've been smeckledorfed!" the gray tabby tom snarled with rage.

Goldpaw saw Redspots give him another wink before retorting to the gray tabby, "That's not even a real word and I agree with you!" And after that, the black-spotted tom leaped out of the way, earning him a stare from his Clanmates.

Just then Tobias let out a screech before flying at the pale tabby tom, knocking him down and raking his face with his talons. At the cue, Silverpaw and Ashpaw lunged from their hiding place behind the pillar and pounced onto the Elder-Sages. They raked their pelts with their claws and closed their eyes with their paws.

Redspots pounced at the other dark red tom and shoved him to the ground, throwing back his head and yowling, "Now, Goldpaw! Go!"

"Now's your chance, Goldpaw!" Silverpaw added, pressing the gray tom harder onto the floor.

Goldpaw was now getting excited as his heart beat faster with joy. Now he could meet up with Whitestorm and ask him about his vision of the comet. He leaped down from the beak of the griffin statue and was ready to jump off the talon when he felt something grab his scruff and slam him hard down onto the floor. Blood trickling into his eyes, Goldpaw looked up to see an unfortunately familiar face.

It was Bearclaw. The last time Goldpaw had seen the large dark brown tabby, he had been on Heavyrose Island, where he burned down many buildings. Now he seemed to get revenge by taking Goldpaw prisoner.

Then Bearclaw grabbed Goldpaw's scruff in his jaws and pierced it with bramble-sharp teeth. After that, he dragged him out into the open where he could look through his blood-filled eyes at the shocked and horrified faces of Silverpaw, Ashpaw, and Redspots.

"The Avatar Cat's coming with me, you asses, and you won't stop me!" Bearclaw hissed.

Now the tables were turned for the young (and old) heroes. While Tobias flew out of reach of the FireClan cats, the Elder-Sages got up quickly and pounced onto Silverpaw, Ashpaw, and their fellow Elder-Sage. Then they had proceeded to snap collars, leashes, and chains onto the three cats and tied them to the pillar so they couldn't escape.

Bearclaw shoved Goldpaw away from his friends to the opening in the floor and yowled over his shoulder, "Close those doors quickly!"

As the elders rushed to the doors to close them, Goldpaw glanced over his shoulder at the two WaterClan cats and gave them a nod. He knew how to get out of this mess...

As soon as the two cats reached the opening in the ground, Goldpaw unsheathed his back claws and kicked Bearclaw in the face, feeling his claws sink into fur. Bearclaw dropped Goldpaw so he could yowl in pain, giving Goldpaw another chance to kick him again, sending him down the stairs, and dashed away like his life depended on it. After hearing the dark tabby cat hit the floor below, he quickly dashed some more to the doors, which were beginning to close.

"Hurry!" Silverpaw screeched to him.

Nodding to her and feeling relieved once again, Goldpaw banked left and leapt into the air to avoid a fire blast. He did several turns in mid-air and that move was what Goldenstripe called the "False Battouga". He ran to two of the Elder-Sages and leaped onto their heads to use them as stepping stones on his way to the doors. He sailed through the doors just as they are closing, the doors shut, and the locks grind.

He could hear Silverpaw cheer, "Yes! He made it!"

Goldpaw suddenly saw the floor beneath him glow a bright red as bright as the sun itself. He was crouching low on the floor in front of Avatar Cat Whitestorm's statue. The setting sunlight came through an octagonal window at the top of the sanctuary. The light was brilliantly reddish and moved slowly up the great statue.

He stood up, tilted his head to one side, and mewed, "So the light gets to the statue and I get to talk to Whitestorm. Why isn't anything happening?"

**...**

Bearclaw rammed into the doors one more time before leaping back to the Elder-Sages and they struck up FireBending poses. They shot five simultaneous fire blasts from their front paws at the doors. This time, however, the lock mechanism did not respond.

Bearclaw was very irritated. "Why won't this damn door open?"

"It's probably the light," the pale tabby Elder-Sage explained to him. "Whitestorm doesn't want us to disturb him now."

**...**

Goldpaw looked upwards at the octagonal window far above him. The sun seemed to be finally setting behind the ocean and sunset was still at its peak. He padded to the statue and stood in the center of the sanctuary facing Whitestorm's statue. The weak sunlight from the window was now on Whitestorm's chest where his heart was at.

Still irritated about this thing going slow, Goldpaw yowled to the ceiling in distress, "Why the hell isn't this working? I don't know what to do! Whitestorm and spirits of StarClan, PLEASE TALK TO ME!"

All of a sudden, the golden Avatar Cat saw the sunlight move up the previous Avatar Cat's face. When the light hits the statue's eyes, they began to glow a pure white color. The sanctuary was soon filled with pearly-gray mist. When the mist cleared up, Goldpaw suddenly saw four huge oak trees towering above him with a huge stone in the middle.

_Fourtrees._

And sitting on top of the gray stone in the middle of the clearing was Avatar Cat Whitestorm. His white pelt was glowing like a ghost in the moonlight and his long tail was wrapped around his paws.

"Greetings, Goldpaw," the white warrior greeted him, bowing to him with respect in his golden eyes. "It's good to meet you at last. What took you so long?" he added quizzically at him as he tipped his head to one side.

_Doesn't matter! I made it to him at last! _Goldpaw cheered inwardly with shock and amazement as he bowed to Whitestorm.

**...**

Bearclaw beckoned the pale tabby tom to Redspots with his tail, and the tabby tom pounced forward and pinned his fellow Elder-Sage to the ground. Redspots tried hard to kick him away, but the other elder pinning him down was stronger. As Bearclaw prowled forward, the other four Elder-Sages tied the red tom up with collars and chains.

The dark brown tabby tom shoved his face into Redspots', snarling, "Why the hell did you help the Avatar Cat? What's wrong with you?"

"It was once and still is the Elder-Sages' duty to help the Avatar Cat," Redspots retorted, resolve starting to harden his yellow glare. "Nothing will make me change my mind!"

Suddenly, Bearclaw could hear the sound of paws clapping together. The clapping stopped and pawsteps were heard. He now realized who had come: Thornflare, with other cats behind him, their amber eyes glittering like a fox's.

_Uncle Irontail _WAS _right! Thornflare _DID _follow us! That bastard!_

Thornflare began meowing with a sneering tone, "Well, that was a warm and moving drama play. I'm sure Darkstar will understand why you betrayed him when you talk to him."

Rage flared inside Bearclaw when he saw the pale tabby FireClan Elder-Sage dip his head in respect to Thornflare and meow, "Greetings, Thornflare."

"And Bearclaw," the dark brown tom finished for him. Turning to Bearclaw, he sneered, "That was a great effort, creating a distraction. But the diversion didn't work and I have now captured two rogues in one day. Darkstar will be happy to hear this."

Two FireClan warriors lunged toward and shoved Bearclaw down by grabbing his shoulder and slamming him down. The large dark brown tabby warrior struggled in vain and spat out curses to the stumpy-tailed tomcat while he was pinned down.

"You're too late, you stupid damn fool," he spat with great fury. "The doors are sealed the Avatar Cat inside!"

Nonetheless, Thornflare gave him a shrug and answered, "Ah, that doesn't matter. He'll need to come out sooner or later."

With a hiss, Bearclaw turned around to see the silver she-cat and the dark gray tabby tom give each other worrying quick looks. He didn't care about how those two felt; right now, his honor was at risk and he didn't want it to slip away from him.

**...**

Goldpaw glanced around him to see much more of StarClan's hunting grounds. A long-tailed black-&-white tom was hunting a rabbit alongside a brown tabby tom and a dusky brown she-cat and a pale tabby tom with pale blue eyes were laying in the moonlight on some rocks. There were also a dark tortoiseshell she-cat and a blue-gray she-cat talking excitedly to one another.

There were more cats than those others. A pretty silver tabby queen was playfully teasing a large gray tom and a brown tabby-&-cream she-cat was leaping into a tree next to a ginger-&-white tom. Below his paws, a mouse scurried away into a holly bush before being chased by a spotted golden she-cat.

_Those must be the four ancient Clans._

He could see some cats from the new Clans, but he didn't have much time to talk with them. So he turned back to Whitestorm, whose eyes were dancing with amusement before turning serious again when he spoke.

"Goldpaw, I must tell you something you must hear," he meowed to the golden tom. "That's why I sent Atka to find you when you arrived in the hunting grounds of StarClan."

Goldpaw stepped forward, climbed onto the stone to face Whitestorm, and mewed, "Is it about the vision about the comet?"

Whitestorm nodded and continued his speech, "Fourteen years ago, Shadowstar of FireClan used that meteor to start the Great War. He and his FireBending warriors stored up its immense power and landed a first deadly blow against the three other Clans."

He looked up toward the sky, which began to turn red, and the other cats of the Clans looked up to yelp with horror. Above them, very far away, was the giant meteor and it headed right at them. When he shook himself, he looked up to see that the sky was once again heavenly and moonlit; the StarClan cats were calm.

"So that made FireClan stronger?"

"Yes. Stronger than you could ever imagine," Whitestorm answered him.

Goldpaw was confused. "But that happened over fourteen years ago. What the he...what does that meteor have to do with the War?" He almost said "What the hell" but he guessed it would be rude to say curse words in StarClan.

Whitestorm nodded and meowed, "Listen, Goldpaw: The Shadow Meteor will return to Earth by the end of greenleaf and Darkstar of FireClan will use it to win the War for his selfish desires. If he succeeds at this, there won't be anyone to stop him, not even StarClan or even the Avatar Cat. Goldpaw, you must defeat Darkstar before the meteor comes."

"But that's too much!" Goldpaw argued. There wasn't even enough time to master the elements! "I haven't even learned the other three elements yet! I need to master, Water, Earth, AND Fire!"

"It takes moons, even years, to completely master all four elements with practice and discipline," Whitestorm seemed to agree with him. "But this time, there can be only one exception. You must master all four elements before this greenleaf ends."

Goldpaw felt fear run through him. This was even more worrying than just fighting Darkstar! How could he complete his Bending training within seven moons?

**...**

Rage ran through Bearclaw as he watched Thornflare and his warriors standing in front of the sanctuary doors, waiting for the Avatar Cat to emerge. As the warriors assumed the FireBending pose, he felt he should be among them. He couldn't, though, for the Elder-Sages still had him pinned down.

"Unleash all of your power when he comes out," Thornflare commanded the warriors.

Bearclaw gave yet another failed lunge at the dark brown warrior, but the elders still kept him back. One day, he would be the one to pin these cats down and he would make them beg for mercy. In fact, he would make all traitors pay for their crimes.

He turned to see the silver she-cat turn her head and talk to her brother. "How will Goldpaw make it out?"

"How will WE make it out?" the dark gray cat asked her. She gave him a glare before the tabby cat defended himself, "Calm down before this shit gets out of paw, okay?"

Bearclaw gave yet another sigh and gave one more lunge at Thornflare before being forced down again by the elders. _I can't wait till I get back to FireClan! I'll have that bastard on the ground and begging me for mercy!_

**...**

Feeling shocked about what he heard just now, Goldpaw asked Whitestorm, "What'll happen if I fail? What if I can't master all four elements?"

"StarClan believes you can do this, young Goldpaw. Remember: you have done it many times before and you could do it again," Whitestorm meowed to him, licking his paw and swiping it over his ear. He stopped washing and looked up to the sky behind the tree branches. The white cat went on, "The solstice is coming to an end. We will separate for now."

"But I won't come back to the temple," Goldpaw mewed to Whitestorm. He needed more advice; he didn't want to leave until he got that. "What if I have more questions? Or if I'm in need of advice?"

He saw Whitestorm's form begin to become shrouded in mist as the white tom closed his eyes. Goldpaw heard his voice meow calmingly, "I am a part of you and StarClan lives in you. You will find a way when you wish to talk with me again."

Goldpaw closed his eyes and saw a vision of the dark brown stumpy-tail tom named Thornflare and his troops in battle positions right outside the sanctuary doors. He was almost consumed with fright and terror, not knowing what to do. He was tempted to run away from there when he heard Whitestorm's voice ring out to him into his mind.

"This is the threat that awaits you at the temple," the voice echoed to him. "I can help you with this. But only if you are ready."

Goldpaw opened his eyes and found out that his arrow markings on his legs were glowing pure white; that meant his head arrow and leg arrows were glowing also. His eyes were also glowing, although he couldn't see them except in a vision or a reflection. Now his fear was replaced by determination and bravery.

"_I'm ready," _he mewed, his voice echoing the many voices of StarClan along his as Whitestorm disappeared in a swirl of mist and stars.

He saw another vision of Thornflare yowling directions to his warriors, his friends tied to a pillar by chains, and Bearclaw being chained up to another pillar. He saw the scene before him: A blinding white light was coming from behind him and through the cracks under the door. Thornflare and his warriors were silhouetted against the light and smoke billowing out into the entryway from the door.

The elders crouched with dread at the light while Goldpaw's friends shielded away from the light by closing their eyes tight and turning their heads away. Bearclaw did the same that Silverpaw, Ashpaw, and Redspots were doing and he turned away from the blinding light.

"Ready yourselves," Thornflare was instructing his troops.

The cats were stalking threateningly toward the doors of the sanctuary. The doors began to open with smoke coming from behind it and Thornflare tensed up. He must have seen Goldpaw's glowing eyes in the shadows.

"Goldpaw, no!" Silverpaw yowled. But she was hushed down by a _Shut the hell up _glare from Thornflare while he yowled to his FireBenders, "FIRE!"

At this. he shot a jet of fire from his mouth and at the doors while his cats did the same. In total, nine warriors, including Thornflare, were concentrating all their fire power at the entrance to the sanctuary. But the fire blasts were not entering the sanctuary. Instead, they were being held at the door and manipulated into an enormous ball of swirling fire!

Goldpaw could feel himself and Whitestorm in the same body in the center of the flames, and he saw that they were in the white tom's body, which was standing on its haunches. He couldn't control his own body as Whitestorm stalked closer to the FireClan cats.

"Avatar Cat Whitestorm!" Redspots wailed with relief while Thornflare looked shocked.

Whitestorm's body drew the fire ball back at himself and shot it out into the room. Thornflare and his warriors were knocked to the floor while the heat of the blast melted the chains holding Ashpaw, Silverpaw, Redspots, and Bearclaw captive. Bearclaw, now free, fled from the scene; the dark brown tabby warrior seemed to be ungrateful about being freed by an Avatar Cat. But no matter.

Avatar Cat Whitestorm's blast had started to destroy the temple walls. His entire body was now glowing as he turned to glare at the four Elder-Sages, who took fright and fled for their lives to save their pelts.

Redspots turned to Silverpaw and Ashpaw, urging them, "Whitestorm's destroying the temple! Let's go!"

"No way in Hell are we leaving Goldpaw here!" Silverpaw responded quickly. "He's our friend!"

At that, Redspots gave her a nod and ran ahead.

Goldpaw and Whitestorm raised a single paw and slammed it down on the floor of the temple. The force of his strike shook the floor and molten lava rose to the surface. Together, the two Avatar Cats lifted their paws up again, pulling the magma from deep within the volcano. They could see a scene of the unstable lava spurting and rising. A wall of magma shot up through the entire temple structure and the lava burst out of the very top of the temple.

Thornflare and his warriors had already fled as Silverpaw and Ashpaw crouched behind a pillar for protection against the heated fire. Seeing this, the two Avatar Cats took a deep breath and lowered their paws to the ground. They could see the light on the statue's face fading away. The eyes of the statue were no longer illuminated by the setting sun of the solstice.

The smoke created by Whitestorm's fire attacks was sucked back at him and he was shrouded in the smoke. As the smoke swirled and dissipated, Goldpaw stood wearily in the entryway to the sanctuary. His eyes were glowing, but he closed them, groaned, and sunk to the floor. Silverpaw and Ashpaw quickly ran to his side, wanting to help him.

"Don't worry, buddy. We got ya," Ashpaw whispered to him, lifting his limp body up and resting him onto his back.

Goldpaw opened his eyes slightly to stare blankly but gratefully at his friends. "Thanks. You're the best, you two," he rasped. But he saw that someone was missing from the pack. "Where'd Redspots go?"

"We don't know, Goldpaw," Silverpaw meowed, shaking her head. "We don't know."

**...**

Molten lava was pouring down the sides of the volcano. Smoke was filling up from the bottom of the temple as the temple began to sink.

Goldpaw was well enough to run now, now that Whitestorm left his body. That experience was weird, for it felt like lots of caterpillars had flooded inside him. He, Silverpaw, and Ashpaw had found the stairs that would lead them out of the temple. Lava had reached all but the top few steps. They realized they were now trapped like rabbits in a cage.

One of the columns crashed to the floor behind them. The three cats screeched with horror and sprinted towards the hole in the temple wall created by Whitestorm's blast. They now saw that the temple was being devoured by the volcano, which had become awakened at last.

Suddenly, they hear a familiar screech and roar. Archie and Tobias were flying down at them with full speed and Goldpaw understood why Tobias fled from the battle. _He was just going to fetch Archie! _Gratefully, Ashpaw, Goldpaw, and Silverpaw slid down one of the peaks of the temple onto Archie's back. The large white dragon zoomed as far away as he could just as the temple sunk further.

As they rode further into the sunset, Tobias fluttered over to Goldpaw and rested on his head with a FireClan helmet in his sharp beak. It seemed he didn't want to leave without a souvenir.

**...**

Redspots gave an inward huff of joy as he watched Goldpaw's dragon fly away into the sunset. But the joy didn't last long, for Thornflare had now begun spitting angrily at all five Elder-Sages, who were all in chains. But for Redspots, he didn't care if he was killed right away.

What mattered was that the Avatar Cat would save the world.

"No Avatar Cat...no FireClan rogue shit," the senior warrior was hissing angrily. "The only thing that cheers me up is seeing all FIVE traitors at once!"

"But sir, Redspots was the only one who helped the Avatar Cat!" the pale tabby elder pleaded.

However, Thornflare reached forward and pinned him to the ground, snarling, "Shut the hell up and save your sob stories for Darkstar! You're all guilty! Take them to their prison!" he snapped at one of the other warriors.

As Redspots was being led away, he spotted Bearclaw from far away looking up at the sky with some kind of hunger in his one golden eye. He felt bad that he couldn't do anymore to help Goldpaw out some more. But as long as the Avatar Cat was helped out, he couldn't ask for any more.

**...**

The moon was large as night had finally fallen. Goldpaw, Silverpaw, Ashpaw, and Tobias were silhouetted against the light of the moon, turning their fur and feathers pale silver. Goldpaw got up and padded away from his friend, hanging his head down sadly with the weight of what he has learned.

Silverpaw got up and padded towards Goldpaw, sitting down next to him and embracing him. Next Ashpaw got up and moved over toward Goldpaw. He sat next to the Avatar Cat, his paw on his shoulder. Finally, Tobias got up from one of Archie's horns and flew towards Goldpaw. He cawed and came to rest directly in front of his master. Archie growled in a loving way, his tail rising and falling as the light from the moon grew brighter and brighter.

An uncertain future now laid ahead of them...

_To be continued..._

**...**

**AvatarCat11: Now this chapter took me quite a while to finish. I was thinking of new FanFiction stories.**

**Katara: Like what?**

**AvatarCat11: I'm creating a Kung Fu Panda FanFic called Honor Before Reason, and there's a crossover I'd like to try. It's called Pokémon: Ballad of Marston. It's a Pokémon and Red Dead Redemption crossover.**

**Holly: I hope those go well.**

**Katara: Me too.**

**AvatarCat11: Me three. So let's say the review and the preview thing.**

**Holly: I'll do it. (To the readers) If anyone can take some time to review, they'll get some virtual frosted Christmas cookies with the green frosting. And they'll also get some virtual pudding pie to go along with it. And here's the preview for The WaterBending Book.**

**Preview: Goldpaw and his pack must avoid pirates when Silverpaw's wish to master some WaterBending gets the best of her. Also, Bearclaw joins up with a new enemy to take them down.**

**AvatarCat11, Katara, and Holly: See ya next time!**


	11. The WaterBending Book

**Holly: Hey, AvatarCat. Are you happy you got The Forgotten Warrior?**

**AvatarCat11: You bet! And guess what? Hollyleaf's back!**

**Katara: (Sits up quickly) Really?**

**AvatarCat11: You bet! Plus, I might not have liked her before, but I'm glad she's back.**

**Holly: That's good to know. Now how about we go with the disclaimer and summary?**

**Katara: Can she, AvatarCat?**

**AvatarCat11: Sure.**

**Holly: Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter own all rights to Avatar: The Last AirBender and Warrior Cats. AvatarCat11 is just bending the characters a little for the entertainment of others.**

**Summary: Goldpaw and his pack must avoid pirates when Silverpaw's desire to master WaterBending gets the best of her. Also, Bearclaw joins up with a new enemy to take them down.**

**Updating Date: December 4, 2011**

**AvatarCat11, Katara, and Holly: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The WaterClan Book_

"Will you sit down already? If Archie bucks, you'll get thrown off; plus, it's not good to pace on a flying dragon. Now what's pissing you off?"

Silverpaw looked up from her paws, thinking about some of the stuff that Goldpaw was talking about, at Ashpaw. Her dark gray tabby sibling was taking over driving Archie while Goldpaw was pacing around with an agitated look on his face. Meanwhile, Archie was flying through a mostly gray sky, broken only by a few shafts of sun that pierced the cloud cover significantly in certain areas.

"Whitestorm told me I have to master ALL four elements before greenleaf ends and the Meteor comes!" the golden Avatar Cat protested with worry.

Ashpaw turned to face him as he explained, "Well, you've already learned AirBending and it went out to be good. That just took you fourteen years to complete it! You can definitely learn the three others before leaf-fall!"

However, Goldpaw's tail kept twitching as he whined, "But I didn't even start to WaterBend and we're not at the Northern WaterClan yet, Ashpaw! You know that!" He tossed his head from left to right and went on, "What in the name of StarClan should I do?"

As he hung his head in hopelessness, Silverpaw decided it was time for the Avatar Cat to calm down and stop worrying. So she pulled him to her side by grabbing his scruff and held his paw with hers. She felt her face grow warm at that gesticulation, but she decided to pay no attention to it while she spoke.

"Hey, calm down, okay?" she whispered to him softly. "Everything will be all right. Since you start WaterBending, how about I teach you the stuff I know? ...if that's alright with you?"

"You'd really do that?" Goldpaw asked her, looking incredulous yet pleased at the same time.

Silverpaw purred and nuzzled him on the ear. She stepped away from him to look over Archie's saddle and Goldpaw looked over it with her. Then the silvery-gray WaterClan cat meowed, "But first, we need to find some water."

"Maybe we can come across a puddle so you can play 'Splish-Splash'," Ashpaw laughed, rolling around and laughing.

**...**

Archie had stopped at a small area with a large river splitting the land around it. Feeding the river was a large waterfall spilling its contents into the river every single second. The three cats and Tobias were looking up at it with different expressions: Ashpaw looked both sour and disappointed while Goldpaw and Silverpaw looked up at it with excitement and happiness.

...though it was difficult to tell what Tobias was feeling. But he must have been excited too.

"Well. Nice puddle there," Ashpaw stammered, his expression changing a little.

Archie swooped in overhead, grunted loudly, and dropped himself into the water. In Tobias' view, the sun was blotted by a shadow, which was the wave of water from the dragon's messy swan dive. The wave crashed over the red-tailed hawk and his feathers got soaked. Now Archie was rolling over in the water, relaxing.

Goldpaw let out a yelp of laughter and yowled, "Hang on, Archie! I'm coming in a few seconds!" At that, he sat down and began washing himself, even in his private places. However, unlike at Heavyrose Island, Silverpaw didn't seem to be too impressed now.

So she called, "Yo, Goldpaw! Remember why we're here."

At once, Goldpaw stopped running and looked back at her, modesty and puzzlement flashing in his gaze and his fur ruffled with awkwardness. "Oh, mouse-dung. Sorry, Silverpaw. You're right; it's time for me to do some WaterBending."

As the two cats got together, Ashpaw prowled to them and muttered with annoyance, "Great. What do I do now? I'm gonna get bored to death!"

Goldpaw glanced at Archie with an impish look on his face as he turned back to the WaterClan tom and answered him, "Actually...you can clean up all the muck and shit from between Archie's toes." He grabbed a long leafy branch from a banana tree and dropped it at his paws.

"So I have to clean up all the muck between a dragon's claws while you two play with water?" He looked very astounded and grossed out at the thought of doing so.

"Yep! All muck and all shit!" Goldpaw replied back, smiling at him innocently.

For a few seconds, Ashpaw looked ready to argue, but he looked away to think it over. When Silverpaw's brother turned back to them, he had a neutral and calm look on his face as he gave his answer.

"Okay, I'll do it. But you owe me one."

He grabbed the branch in his jaws and walked away, prepared to accept his task. He gave a look at Archie resting low in the water, where he was blowing bubbles...and not just from his mouth. With a grimace, he began working in between the dragon's toes, making him retch.

**...**

The brown-&-gray tom let out a growl of frustration as Bearclaw ripped hard at his belly. Blood flew into the air as cats from below deck flew up to the deck to practice with the brown tabby cat. Anger at losing the Avatar Cat only fueled his blood more and he needed a fine brawl to cool him down. But he was being too rough.

Suddenly the ship slanted to starboard, knocking both warriors off balance. Bearclaw got up and hissed with shock. "Someone's changed the course!"

He got up and prowled to the control room and he saw who was responsible: the helms-cat, who was going on the wrong course to the Avatar Cat's trail. This made him angrier than a badger woken from its forty winks. No one, to him, should make a wrong path unless if the Avatar Cat was there.

He rushed forward, wrenched him off the wheel, and roared, "What's the meaning of this? No one told you to go off course!" When he didn't answer, he hissed, "So? Give me an answer, you mouse-heart!"

"Actually, it was I who changed course," a familiar elderly voice mewed to him.

Bearclaw whipped around to see Irontail padding to him with a look on his face as if he had lost a very important something. The flat-face gray tabby went on, "Let me reassure you that it is very important this time, my nephew."

Anger melting away, Bearclaw meowed, "Does it have anything to do with the Avatar Cat?"

"It's more important than that," Irontail answered back to him with that same look in his eye. "It appears that I am missing my phoenix piece."

Irontail moved over to his game board and then moved a piece forward on the Pai Sho board. Bearclaw wasn't fuming right now; at the moment, he was just baffled.

"Phoenix piece?"

"Yes, for my Pai Sho game," his uncle told him. He moved another piece on the board for a few seconds before adding, "While many cats think the phoenix piece is nothing but unimportant and old, it is crucial for the one-of-a-kind plan I normally utilize."

Now Bearclaw was getting enraged. He couldn't believe his lazy uncle was wasting time looking for a toy while they were going to chase after the Avatar Cat and his pack. He slammed his large right forepaw onto the board and let out a hiss of aggravation.

He snarled, "So let me get this straight: you wanted to change course all because of a damn toy?"

"See?" Irontail meowed to him, looking pleasant. "You, like many cats, misjudge its worth. Just give me ten minutes to check the merchants at this seaport of call. With a bit of luck, the phoenix piece will be in stock and I can continue my life!"

While his uncle chuckled, Bearclaw was growling loudly, for he was trying hard to contain his anger. But his patience ran out, so he ultimately released a spurt of flame from his mouth that licked its fiery tongue over the ceiling. The flames ripped at the tapestry with fiery claws as it tore its way to the top.

Despite his nephew's fit, Irontail happily waved the steam away as he purred, "I am very proud to have an understanding nephew."

**...**

While Goldpaw and Silverpaw were at the water's edge during a WaterBending session, Ashpaw was busy working hard at work on Archie's toes. The huge white reptile groaned happily when the leafy branch got between the gaps of his claws. His long tail was sweeping through the cool water, catching a passing turtle unawares.

Ashpaw gave a look at Archie and meowed, "Don't get too content yet. You gotta do my paws next, you know."

But all he received was a grunt.

Back at the other side of the river, Silverpaw was instructing Goldpaw in his first WaterBending lesson. This was a vital element, and she had to make sure he learned how to use it correctly.

"Okay, Goldpaw, I'll show you a basic move. This one took me moons to finish," she meowed to the golden apprentice. While she explained, she sat on her haunches and started to WaterBend the river water with the move she was describing. "Don't get upset if you get this wrong. All you have to do is push and pull the water like this."

Then Silverpaw began to bob elegantly back and forth, the water on the river edge moving back and forth with her. "And don't forget to flick your paws the right way."

"Like this?" Goldpaw mewed, sitting on his haunches and imitating her move. It seemed to look quite good for a novice WaterBender.

Silverpaw nodded. "Well, almost. Sooner or later, you'll-"

But she was suddenly interrupted when she heard Goldpaw meow with delight, "Look at this, Silverpaw! I'm doing it!"

Silverpaw was very surprised to see that Goldpaw got the move exactly right. He was moving a respectably sized wave of water around her. She was very astounded indeed, but she felt a hidden seed of jealousy take root in her nerves.

"Great StarClan, you got it right quickly!" she meowed. But she grumbled unhappily under her breath, "That just took me two damn moons to finish it."

Goldpaw let the water calm down before mewing, "Well, you're a genius at it because you had to learn it alone. I couldn't have had a better WaterBending mentor."

Silverpaw felt the jealousy rot away for a bit before saying, "Thanks, Goldpaw."

...

"Now what?" the AirClan cat asked her when they were at the top of the waterfall.

Silverpaw decided to make sure if he really was cheating or not, so she mewed, "It's a difficult move I like to call...streaming the water."

The silver apprentice sat on her haunches and then began to WaterBend. She moved her front paws around and pulled out of a stream of water from the river. She began looping it around in the air like a bat catching flies. Goldpaw watched in awe as she continued moving the water around her.

While she was doing this, Silverpaw started to tell him, "It's a hard one, so don't get mad if you..."

But she stopped talking because she saw that Goldpaw already got the move right. Not only that, but he was moving around his stream of water as if it were a toy. Silverpaw felt more seeds of envy plant themselves into her nervous system. While she dropped her stream of water, the AirClan apprentice played around with his water for a bit before dumping it back in.

"That was good, even though that fancy paw-work wasn't necessary," she praised him feebly. The jealousy in her began to sprout like an ugly mushroom inside her.

_This is getting to be such a pain in the ass._

Goldpaw smiled and rubbed his head with his paw, replying sheepishly, "Sorry, but I couldn't help it. Anyways," he added, losing his discomfort, "don't stop now! Gimme all you got!"

With the hope of not getting beat at her talent this time, Silverpaw purred slyly, "Well...there's this hard move that took me many moons to master, but it isn't all correct yet. All you have to do is to create a huge wave," she continued, raising her tail.

She began to concentrate and she raised a splash of water out of the river, but it fell back upon itself when her focus went out of control. With a frustrated growl, she stepped aside to give Goldpaw room to do it himself. How was she unable to do this stuff when she grew up with it, while Goldpaw, while not a WaterClan cat, could? It made no sense to her at all.

Silverpaw was hoping that the Avatar Cat would screw up just a bit, but when he raised his tail, a huge wall of water shot up into the air. It was towering over Archie and Ashpaw, who didn't pay attention to the water building up behind him. Ashpaw suddenly saw the shadow around him and turned around to see the huge water wall, his pale blue eyes wide with fear.

"Goldpaw!" he yowled.

But it was too late. The water crashed over him and soaked him as the wave breaks over him and Archie. Silverpaw saw his dark gray head come up from the water, looking darker than usual and looking very irritable.

"Awesome!" Goldpaw cheered, leaping up into the air with joy. He landed back onto the ground and meowed to Silverpaw, "What next?"

"Actually, that's enough for today," Silverpaw growled, her whiskers twitching and feeling jealousy swarm around her insides. It threatened to explode like a bomb.

Her brother swam over to them and added angrily, "I'll say! Look what you did!" He pointed to a couple of bags and fresh-kill floating down the river. "Your WaterBending wave just practiced our supplies away!"

Goldpaw licked his chest guiltily and looked at him, murmuring, "Sorry... We'll just, uh...replace the stuff."

Ashpaw sputtered, sinking back into the river until only his head was as visible as a crocodile's head. "It's gonna be harder than when you were just an AirBender!"

**...**

The three cats planned to go to a shop together and they went to a nearby port village, and they were now walking down a market street. They were seeing views of tough looking sailor cats, merchant cats, and shady types dashing past each other. Usually, Clan cats didn't associate with rogues like this, but they had to get some supplies sometime or they would never be ready for anything.

They could see a big gray tabby tom holding up a much smaller ginger tabby for some unknown reason, as the smaller one was yelping, "Please, let me down!" Another gray tabby shopkeeper a blue cape was addressing a crowd, holding a sack in his jaws and calling around it, "Who's brave enough to look in here?"

When Silverpaw and Goldpaw had waited from outside a small market, Ashpaw padded out with a bag in his jaws. He mewed through a mouthful of sack, "We have exactly three Knuts left from the money Rockstar let us have. We should spend this wisely."

"Actually, Ashpaw..." Goldpaw whispered as he shuffled his front paws, "...we have TWO Knuts left. I couldn't abandon this cool whistle!"

He reached into his orange-& yellow bag from behind his back and pulled out a white whistle in the shape of an Asian Lung. Then he drew in some breath and blew into it, making Ashpaw laid down and covered his ears to stop the sound he thought was coming. But to Silverpaw, nothing happened, only the sound of rushing air.

Ashpaw seemed to guess that all was clear, for he uncovered his ears, sat up, and retorted, "The damn thing isn't working." Tobias flew down to them, sat on Goldpaw's head, and cawed as his master stopped blowing into the whistle. "See? Even Tobias thinks it's a pile of mouse-dung."

"Here, I'll look after the money from now on. No offense," Silverpaw put in. Her mushrooms of jealousy in her were already wilting now that they weren't WaterBending at the moment.

But she didn't want Goldpaw to foolishly spend their money like no tomorrow. Goldpaw just gave a guilty sigh as he gave the bag of money to Silverpaw, who put it in her own blue bag.

A few minutes later, the three Clan cats were walking around at the docks of a shipyard. They padded past a large ship, where a goofy-looking black-&-white cat with lipstick on his lips and brows was enticing visitors to visit.

"Clans of Earth, Fire, and Water!" he was yowling to the customers in an Australian accent. "You're always welcome if bargaining is your answer! Come on by, don't be shy!"

He was eying the three apprentices, who decided to just keep walking. But he seemed to be persistent, for he started to follow them.

"Oi! You seem to be the traveling type, eh?" he greeted them. "Would you like some nargles?"

Goldpaw tipped his head to one side and asked him quizzically, "What are nargles?"

However, the black-&-white barker paused and gave him a confused look before meowing, "We don't know, but we got 'em!"

At that, he grabbed Goldpaw's shoulder and gently began nudging him to the ship. Silverpaw and Ashpaw gave each other looks while following the two tomcats.

Inside the ship, there were a lot of items and accessories inside the shelf on shelves; they seemed to interest all three apprentices. Silverpaw herself was paralyzed at the red gaze of a large statue of a creature that was a two-legged animal that looked like a cross between a dragon, a horse, and a demon. This creature looked so creepy that she would have weird dreams about it.

Suddenly, a raspy voice meowed, "Argh, I've never seen quite a bird like that before. That beast would fetch me a large addition, if you'd be interested in swapping."

They turned to see a large dark ginger tabby tom entering from a dark doorway. He wore a wide brim hat on his head, a patch over his right eye, and a huge green parrot on his shoulder, which screeched several times even when the Captain was finished. He was talking to Goldpaw.

"I'm sorry, but Tobias isn't for sale," Goldpaw hissed, stepping caringly in front of his hawk.

While they were distracted, Silverpaw padded over to a book shelf. One of them, the thinnest, has the water symbol on its end and that got her very interested. So she took the book out and opened it, amazed to see the instructions on how to perform various WaterBending moves. Her blue eyes lit up and she drew an intake of breath as she padded back to Goldpaw.

"Goldpaw, look at this!" she whispered to him, not bothering to keep happiness from her mew. "It's a WaterBending book! Look at these awesome moves!"

The golden tom nodded in agreement, took the book gently from her paws, and turned back to the dark ginger tabby. "So where'd you get that book?"

As soon as he finished saying that, the dark ginger tom suddenly swiped it from his jaws and he replied as calmly as he could, "Well, young swarthy, let's just say I got it from a WaterClan landlubber up north...for free."

With that said, he put the book back on the shelf, making Silverpaw gaze hungrily back at the book. She knew that these cats wouldn't let her buy it without a price, but she really wanted to get her paws on that book. Besides, she reckoned that those cats stole that book from a skilled WaterBender. So she took the bag off of her shoulders and began digging through it.

"Hold on there for a minute!" Ashpaw's echoing voice ruining her thoughts. "Here on this boat, there are ocean-loving traders, suspiciously acquired items, pet parrots, and sea-talk! You guys are pirates, aren't you?" he demanded the ginger tabby cat, pointing his paw at him.

The black-&-white barker padded up to the dark gray WaterClan cat while putting his tail on his shoulder and grinning. "Well, just think of us as danger-facing traders."

Meanwhile, Silverpaw had pulled out the small two Knuts that were leftover from the money that Rockstar let them use. _If only Goldpaw didn't buy that dragon whistle..._

With the small bronze coins in her paw, she turned back to the ginger cat, who was obviously the captain, and asked him, "How much is it for the WaterBending book that you 'traded'?"

"There's already a cat, a noble in EarthClan, who wants to buy the book," the Captain retorted, "...unless you got one hundred Galleons with you, lassie?"

Feeling frustrated at not having that much money, she turned to Goldpaw. She still wished she didn't give him that money so that he couldn't buy that dragon whistle.

Perhaps seeing the look in her eyes, Goldpaw nodded to her and answered her, "I can deal with this, Silverpaw. Pirates love to haggle and engage in insulting contests. Plus, when they greet each other, they do insulting contests."

He took one of the Knuts from Silverpaw and went back to the Captain, meowing in a fake pirate voice, "Argh, you stupid grog-abusing whale fart, would you and your swarthies like a bronze Knut for the book?" At that, he dropped the little bronze coin onto the counter.

However, the Captain let out a laughing purr as he meowed, "Hahaha! I already told you to pay one hundred damn Galleons for the book, you cricket-sized barnacle-backed cabin boy. I don't haggle on prices this rare."

"Well, let's try TWO bronze Knuts, you donkey-eared seaweed-slurping swabber!" Goldpaw retorted. He took another coin from Silverpaw, dropped it onto the counter, and did a little jig.

"Boy, it's not funny the second time," the ginger tabby Captain growled. He looked very bored and impatient with the bargaining and the insults.

Silverpaw padded timidly back to Goldpaw and whispered in his ear, "Let's get out of here right now. We're starting to get some funny looks from the pirates on this ship." There was something behind her trembling that she was hiding, but she didn't want to reveal it until they got off of the ship.

Goldpaw nodded to her, picked his staff up in his jaws, and followed her out. But not before calling to the Captain, "We'll catch ya off the port bow, you bleating knuckle-dragging bag of vomit!"

When the three apprentices got out of the ship, Ashpaw was carrying a tuna in his jaws and Goldpaw turned onto Silverpaw. He asked her, "What happened back there, Silverpaw? You looked like you just saw Tigerstar's ghost!"

"Yeah, Silverpaw," Ashpaw added, padding up to her with the tuna flapping around in his jaws when he padded to her. "I was starting to look through their bone collection!"

But Silverpaw decided to make herself low, so she took the bag from her shoulders and laid it down onto the dock. She meowed, "The sooner we get away from the hellhole, the better I'll feel. That ship gave me more of a fright than a graveyard."

All of a sudden, however, the black-&-white pirate who implored them at first dashed across the deck shouting. They could hear him yell, "Get the hell back here!"

Goldpaw turned around to smirk as he meowed, "Well, well, well. Looks like you came back to your senses. I told you they care for haggling," he added to his WaterClan friends with laughter sketched all over his face.

Unfortunately, it appeared that Goldpaw was wrong this time. Like angry bees from a beehive, the pirate cats were exiting their ship to come after the three Clan cats. Suddenly, the pack was faced with a dozen or so well-armed and clearly angry pirate cats. While Goldpaw got in front of his friends and arched his back in defense while hissing, Silverpaw hoped they would escape or these cats would feed them to the sharks.

But she was definitely hiding something...

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Backing up slowly behind Goldpaw, Silverpaw could see the anger in the pirate cats' eyes as they let out hisses like "There they are!" "Get them!" and "No one let them go!"

Silverpaw meowed to Goldpaw, "Those pirates really don't seem to want to trade!" And without further delay, the three cats ran off in the opposite direction, causing a roar among the pirate cats.

"After them!" one cat from behind screeched.

The three apprentices sprinted down an alley, but Silverpaw could tell that, from the scent that drifted in different areas, the pirates split into two groups. One was following the cats while the other, led by the pirate barker, went in another direction.

They could hear the black-&-white barker yowl, "Surround 'em! They went this way!"

So the three cats dashed to the other side of the building without any pirate cats behind them, but Ashpaw let out a wail of surprise when he slid sharply around the corner. When she followed her brother, Silverpaw pushed a barrel of water quickly to the ground and froze the spilt water with WaterBending. As they fled, Silverpaw could hear a pirate cat yowl as he slipped on the ice and fell to the ground.

When the cats ran away enough, they saw another obstacle: the gray tabby lettuce merchant from MudClan; he was busy fondling with his lettuces happily. But he saw them coming, so he put the lettuce in his portable stand, which was full of lettuces and began to wheel it away. As he did so, Silverpaw and Ashpaw bumped into the cart as they ran, knocking lettuces to the ground.

The lettuce merchant saved the lettuces from hitting the ground, but Goldpaw launched himself between the cart's canopy and the lettuces and he emerged out the other side. While he did so, he twisted around and AirBended the cart up the street to strike the pursuing pirates. The lettuce cart disappeared in clouds of dust as did the pirates.

The cabbage cat turned back to glare at the fleeing cats and grumbled, "My lettuces! MudClan is better than this place!"

The Clan cats were running down another alley, but when they turned the next corner, they were met by the pirate barker and his cats. The apprentices whirled around and ran back the way they came, the pirates again in pursuit.

As Tobias swooped down to swipe quickly at one cat's eye with his talons, another cat jeered, "You better hope that damn hawk has nine lives!"

_Only leaders get nine lives, dumbshit, _Silverpaw retorted silently as the cats turned into a blind alley. Fearfully, they turned around to face up to their pursuers.

The black-&-white barker prowled forward in a sinister way as his claws unsheathed. "Who would like to feel the sting of my claws reinforced with daggers?"

"Not I!" Goldpaw spoke up.

Then he rose into the air and landed hard on the ground, AirBending a huge gust of wind at the Pirates, who were briefly blinded with dust and unsettled. Goldpaw then began to rush forward while opening his glider from his back.

"Grab on, you two!"

Silverpaw and Ashpaw followed him and Silverpaw panted while running alongside him, "Are you sure about this, Goldpaw? What if we crush your back?"

Goldpaw replied, "Never mind about that! Just trust in me and hang on!"

Silverpaw and Ashpaw clung onto Goldpaw's tail as he lifted them up surprisingly easily into the air. But they had trouble gaining elevation at first; in fact, they began to bounce off the pirate cats' heads while they tried to escape. They finally got carried by the wind, however, and looked back to see the pirate cats and the port receding behind them.

**...**

Back at the waterfall, Goldpaw closed his glider up and Tobias flew downwards to rest next to his master. They had to stop and have a drink of water before they could talk.

"You know, I used to like pirate cats when I was a kit," the golden tom meowed to his pack, water dripping from his whiskers. "But now I don't think I do anymore."

"I knew you'd say that," Silverpaw purred, placing the bag onto the ground. Now was the time to reveal why the pirate cats chased them angrily. "Because of that, I took...this book!" Happily, she reached into the bag..._and dragged the WaterClan Book from it._

Goldpaw looked very shocked as he gasped, "No way."

Silverpaw purred happily at finally getting her paws on the book. While Goldpaw was engaged in the haggle with the Captain, she had snuck over to the shelf like a snake and plucked it from there. She could easily tease herself with the thought that she would be part ShadowClan, but she wasn't.

Ashpaw also looked shocked, but he looked angry as he spat, "No wonder why they wanted to cut us into strips! You swiped their book!"

"Just refer to me as a 'danger-facing trader,'" his sister replied, feeling very proud of herself. She couldn't wait to see the look on Goldpaw's face when she surpassed his WaterBending tricks.

"Great one, Silverpaw!" Goldpaw laughed, smiling once more.

Silverpaw nodded to him with agreement before turning to her brother. "Where the hell did you think they got it from, Ashpaw? They stole it from a WaterBending cat with ambush or murder!"

Ashpaw shook his head irately and snarled, "That doesn't matter! You put our lives in danger by stealing that book!"

"You know how vital it is for Goldpaw to learn WaterBending. Besides, these moves look so awesome!" Silverpaw mewed, making her eyes go big and sad-like to beg her brother.

"Whatever," Ashpaw scoffed before padding away and sniffing the air for prey.

Goldpaw gave a small glance to the dark gray tom before meowing, "Well, there's no use wailing over lost prey. What's done is done. We better make some good things with that book."

The two apprentices nodded to each other, keen to start a new term in WaterBending. Silverpaw hoped Goldpaw wouldn't rush ahead of her; she wanted to get a chance at learning how to use new WaterBending attacks. Now she wanted to learn these moves to fight with more than just with her claws and teeth.

**...**

Bearclaw hated shopping. That was why he decided to look up at the sky, seeing several seagulls and pelicans search for food. But he was reminded of chasing the Avatar Cat: keeping on with going around in circles because of distractions. If they kept lagging around, they would soon lose sight of the Avatar Cat.

He heard Irontail's voice meow behind him, "I checked all the shops here and I didn't find one lily piece in any of them. Not one!"

Since he was infuriated because the waste of time, Bearclaw spun around and yowled at his uncle, "Are you happy now? Looks like this trip was a waste of time!"

"Oh, not to worry, my nephew," Irontail purred, unbothered by his anger. "There's a proverb I like to say: the only thing better than finding something you were looking for is finding an item you _weren't_ looking for at a good price!"

While he listened to another of his uncle's sayings, a line of FireClan warriors padded by them, pulling wagonloads of merchandise that were bought. One of them was pulling a wagon of some kind of brass musical instrument.

"You bought an Asian tuba?" Bearclaw asked Irontail, disbelief filling his mew.

The flat-faced gray tabby tom waved his tail gladly and meowed, "Yes. Now we're going to start music night on the ship. I just wish we could get some chimes."

Giving a sigh, yet not wanting to lose his temper too quickly, Bearclaw padded down the dock with his uncle following him. They should not be wasting time here, Bearclaw seemed to think. To him, they should have tried to capture the Avatar Cat, not buy useless trash.

A few minutes later, Bearclaw heard Irontail call, "This looks interesting!" He turned around to see a large ship with a few cats scowling on board and stalking around the deck. They seemed to want to pick a fight with someone.

When they went inside, Bearclaw jumped a little when he flinched at the scarlet gaze of a large statue of a creature. It was a two-legged animal that looked like a mix between a dragon, a horse, and a demon. However, Irontail looked interested.

"What a handsome creature!" he purred happily, nudging the spooked Bearclaw closer to the dragon-horse-demon statue. "It would look better in our galley!"

Bearclaw shoved his uncle away and began sniffing around the area for familiar scents. There was a faint scent of WaterClan and AirClan in the ship and there was also a scent of hawk. But he stopped sniffing around when he saw a large dark ginger tabby tom talking with a couple of other cats.

_These must be pirate cats, _he mused.

"We lost the silver bitch and the golden cat she was with, Captain," a black-&-white tom with an Australian accent was explaining. "We're sorry to let you down, mate."

_Silver cat? Golden cat? _The cats and their pelt colors appeared in his mind and he remembered the silver cat; she was a companion of the Avatar Cat. While Bearclaw listened to their quite conversation, Irontail shoved the dragon-horse-demon statue forward with a huge grin on his face.

Deciding to let these cats know he had heard, the dark brown tabby warrior prowled forward and, without introducing himself, meowed, "So about this golden cat, did he have a white arrow stripe on his head?"

While the pirate cats nodded, Irontail moved the statue more forward and began making neighing sounds like a horse. All that Bearclaw did was roll his eyes and sigh, but he was relieved secretly about something on the inside: those pirates have found the Avatar Cat!

**...**

With a casual flick of a paw, Silverpaw opened up the book Goldpaw was holding for her. She studied it carefully at the river's edge.

"Just let me get this move, and then I'll let you have a turn. Okay?" she meowed to Goldpaw. The AirClan cat gave her a steady nod.

She got into a stance with her legs spread out around her and her claws unsheathed, and then she took another look at the book. Then she flipped it around a little. She muttered, _Hmmm... This Water Claws attack seems cool._

When she was ready, Silverpaw rose to her hind feet and made some water form around her claws. Feeling satisfied, she made them turn into ice and sliced at the air, but the claws suddenly turned onto her and pain shot through her ear, telling her that her ear was torn from the attack.

Ashpaw, who was watching with some mild attention, was sitting on a rock while his littermate practiced her WaterBending. When he saw the move go wrong, he couldn't help but express amusement and began laughing.

"What's so funny, smartass?" Silverpaw asked him snappily as blood trickled from her ear and into the water.

"I'm very sorry, Silverpaw, but THAT was funny!" her brother chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye with his paw. When Goldpaw padded forward, Ashpaw told him, "I think she tricked you, buddy. She only got the book so she could teach herself only."

With a huff, Silverpaw protested in vain, "I'll give it to Goldpaw when I finish the Water Claws!"

Feeling frustrated, she tried again. But the claw wave acted very randomly and accidentally raked the tail feathers and bottom of Tobias. The red-tailed hawk screeched in pain and stared angrily at her in objection.

"Why can't I get this damn move right?" she hissed over and over again, trying to summon all her strength and concentration. But she failed yet again. She sat down in the water and began to mope bad-temperedly.

Goldpaw gave her a lick on the ear affectionately and meowed, "Silverpaw, don't worry. You'll get the hang of it. You'll see."

Silverpaw glared at him. She felt very disgruntled and jealousy planted itself into her heart once again at this declaration, certainly expecting Goldpaw to show her up again. She felt even angrier when Goldpaw rose to his hind legs, surrounded his claws with water, made them into ice, and raked them in the air.

It was a perfect shot. But this didn't make Silverpaw any better. Instead, she felt very angry as she stood up, ready to storm off.

"What you have to do is shift your weight to your hind paws," Goldpaw was instructing her. She could feel her blood boiling with anger as he did the Water Claws perfectly yet again and let the water drop down. Then he continued: "There we go. The answer to doing this is..."

But suddenly, something in Silverpaw snapped.

"_SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU FUCKING AIR-HOLE!_" she roared, slicing at his face with her claws and getting close up to him. "No one's interested in your 'perfect' skills and it pisses them off! Why don't you just throw the damn book away since you're so 'special?'"

She ignored the blood dripping to the ground and the shocked look on his face as she continued to roar at him, "I wish I killed you when you came from that Stone!" When he didn't reply, she hissed, "Well? What have you got to say for yourself?"

"Silverpaw! Quite yelling at him!" Ashpaw's bark immediately made her turn on her brother and he didn't look happy anymore; instead, there was anger and disappointment in his pale blue eyes and his bristling tail flicked to his spot which meant "Get over here! I'm angry with you!"

But Silverpaw didn't pad over to him; instead, she snarled very aggressively, "What, you piece of fox-dung?"

Ashpaw growled, "Silverpaw, all he did was show you to make a move right and you yell at him for that? And what's worse is that you clawed him AND say you wish you killed him! Let's hear what YOU have to say!"

Whiskers twitching, he twitched his ear behind her. Silverpaw spun around to see what he wanted.

The anger and rage inside her washed away like sand in water when she saw Goldpaw shivering in front of her. He was trembling very hard from shock and pain, blood dripped down from his face and dripping into the water, and tears were dripping from his sorrow-filled gray eyes.

_Great StarClan, what have I done? _Shame and sadness filled in her heart as Goldpaw backed away from her when she stepped to him. This wasn't what she wanted to do at all; it had felt like something dark had surged up inside her heart.

Silverpaw mewed abashedly, "Oh, Goldpaw. I'm _so _sorry. I don't know what got into me."

"It's-it's okay, Silverpaw," Goldpaw gulped in a shaky voice while crying.

"No, it's not," she meowed to him, licking the blood away from his face and licking the tears away.

Remembering the book and cursing it for the danger it posed, she went to pick it up and laid it at Goldpaw's feet. "To make sure this doesn't happen again, I want you to keep this book. I don't want it anymore."

Goldpaw managed to stop crying and dipped his head unevenly to his WaterClan friend, purring in return, "Thank you, Silverpaw."

"But what about Tobias, guys?" Ashpaw interrupted them. "He's another victim from the rage!"

The two cats turned to see Tobias scooting his scarred bottom on the ground as he continued to squawk in pain and glaring at Silverpaw. The silver she-cat realized that she didn't immediately apologize to the red-tailed hawk for clawing at his tail feathers. When she padded towards him, he tried to scoot away, but he just stood still after that.

Silverpaw licked the hawk on the head and meowed, "I'm sorry, Tobias. I wish I apologized to you earlier."

Then Ashpaw mewed shrewdly, "Well, what about me? I remembered when you..."

But Silverpaw knew what he was doing, so she growled, "No more apologizing today, okay?"

Despite her fierceness, she wasn't as harsh as she was to Goldpaw. Thinking that enough was enough, she padded to the river, which was scarlet with blood from her and Goldpaw, and scooped a fish from the river. While she chewed on the tail of the fish, she began thinking of something...

**...**

The ship couldn't be more crowded than before. Outside the ship, the cutter craft and the pirate ship were moving up the river in parallel. Below the deck, Bearclaw and the dark ginger tabby Captain were having a conversation with the large green parrot on its master's shoulders.

The Captain meowed to his new associate, "Argh, shouldn't we search the forest for those landlubbers?"

"Don't forget I'm a 'landlubber' too," Bearclaw retorted, his pelt ruffling. Deciding to get back onto the subject, he went on, "We don't need to stop the ship at land. You said before that they stole a WaterBending book, right?"

"Yerse," the Captain grunted while the parrot scuffled its feet over and over again on its owner's shoulders.

Bearclaw went in deeper into the plan by meowing, "So since they stole a book related to WaterClan, they'll be somewhere near the water..."

**...**

Stars littered the night sky as Silverpaw got up from her nest and stretched. She was indeed sorry for yelling at Goldpaw, but she didn't really mean to give the book away. So, giving in to temptation, she got up, moved over to Goldpaw, and silently removed the scroll from his bag.

Ignoring the guilt building up inside her mind, she backed sneakily away from the camp, looking back to see if anyone followed her. But no one did. She turned around only to be confronted by Tobias' shining green eyes. He was sitting on some sort of tree trunk as he chirped at her.

"Shh, Tobias! Go back to sleep." she begged for him to sleep while she stepped backwards.

Tobias let out another chirp and Silverpaw silenced him by placing her tail over his beak. That seemed to calm the hawk down, so she quietly slunk away into the trees.

A few minutes later, she was back at the river, which was now glowing silver in the moonlight now that the blood washed away. She laid the book down, opened a page, and reared up onto her hind legs. She let the ice surround her claws and did another swipe, but once again, it didn't work since it slashed her torn ear again.

"Shit! Come on, you stupid water!" she growled with frustration. "Work with me here!"

Next, she lifted a globe of water out of the river with her paw and tried to manipulate it, but it didn't work still. Each of her mistakes were being punctuated by a verbal exclamation of "Okay," "Stupid!" or something else.

So she decided to switch back to the Water Claws. But once again, the trick backfired, hitting her on the ear again. She snarled to herself with determination, _Silverpaw, you can do it! Just shift your weight to your hind feet like Goldpaw told you!_ She wished she listened to him more if she wasn't busy screeching at him for no reason.

Suddenly she heard the noise and smelt the smell of grinding metal. She sprinted over to a row of bushes on her left and parted the branches to reveal Bearclaw's cutter craft now beached on the river bank. There were other cats that weren't on the ship before: the pirate cats.

_How did he find us?_

With fright hammering in her heart like water crashing over a rock, she turned to run away. But there stood a pirate cat, who grabbed her roughly by the scruff.

"Let go of me!" she spat, lashing out with her fore paw.

To her amazement, water turned into ice on her claws and she swiped a successful strike on the cat's face, making him drop her and howl in pain. She couldn't believe she finally got the move right. Silverpaw couldn't wait to tell Goldpaw and she could see the pride for her in his gray eyes.

But her relief turned to horror when she felt something heavy land onto her back and pin her to the ground. Silverpaw began to squirm desperately to get away, but the something's paw pressed onto her neck and its claws pierced her flesh. Then she smelled a familiar stench and a familiar hiss whispered into her ear:

"Going somewhere?"

Silverpaw craned her neck around to see the towering figure of Bearclaw above her, his good golden eye glittering with madness in the moonlight. He kinked his tail to the recognizable black-&-white barker, who was digging a hole in the sand, and growled to Silverpaw, "Don't worry, little peasant. I'll save you from these cats."

_He's lying! What do I do?_

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

No matter how hard she struggled, Silverpaw couldn't get out and escape. After the black-&-white barker dug a hole in the sand, Bearclaw dropped her down into the hole and covered her up until her head poked out of the sand. She was frightened and yowled for help a few times, but she was usually silenced; now she couldn't call for help.

This treatment also made her mad because Bearclaw had new allies to do his dirty work. She tried to pull herself out of the sand, but it was very hard to do, so she fell limp.

As the FireClan cats and the pirate cats surrounded her, Bearclaw snarled at her, "Now tell me where the Avatar Cat is, little she-cat."

"Go shove a fish up your ass!" Silverpaw retorted heatedly. She thrashed her head back and forth a little until she fell limp again.

Bearclaw's golden eye glittered with rage, but he seemed to calm down right away. Seeming to try to be reasonable, he meowed softly, "Please understand, WaterClan cat. I have to capture him to regain something I lost moons ago. And that is my honor. Maybe in exchange, I can give you something _you_ lost ages ago."

He unsheathed his claws, pulled out a red bag, and sliced it open. In the dark, Silverpaw couldn't tell what it was until she felt in around her neck. She looked down and gasped at what it was: a sapphire glow in the form of a fox's fang.

With shock, Silverpaw looked up as Bearclaw padded away from behind her while taking the necklace away and sat down in front of her. "How'd you get my mom's necklace? Did you steal it?"

"No, mouse-brain," the large dark brown tabby tom retorted. "Now tell me where he is."

"No!"

The dark ginger tabby Captain prowled forward and growled, "Now enough of this shit! Give us the scroll! You gave an oath!"

But Bearclaw threw down the book in front of him, placed a paw over it, unsheathed his claws again, and let the flames surround it. The pirate cats wailed in horror at the thought of seeing their beloved book. Silverpaw didn't want to see it burn either; she wanted to learn so much from that book.

"Hmmm...I wonder how much _this_ is worth," Bearclaw growled while the pirate cats gasped and yowled loudly for him not to destroy the book. "Judging by the looks on your faces, I suppose it cost a lot. If you help me get what I want, I'll give it to you and everyone will be happy."

"Fair enough," the Captain sighed. Then he told Bearclaw, "If we don't find the golden cat, we'll see the silver cat to Davy Jones' Locker!"

The FireBending warrior asked him, "What does that even mean?"

The Captain hissed sinisterly, "It means that if we don't give you the golden cat, we'll kill the silver whore here." He pointed at Silverpaw with his tail as he spoke.

Silverpaw immediately felt frightened about these cats killing her. But what was most important was to see if Goldpaw was okay. Unfortunately, she couldn't move because she was buried in the sand with her head sticking out; in addition, she was tired from thrashing about. After the dark ginger tabby Captain asked of this favor, Bearclaw glared at Silverpaw and nodded.

_Goldpaw and Ashpaw, I hope you can hear me! Help me! Help!_

**...**

The sun rose over the sky and through the trees as Ashpaw woke up from a good dream of hunting and fighting. But after he stretched his muscles, he smelled a faint scent and he saw that Silverpaw had left her nest. He poked his head into Goldpaw's bag and let out a curse:

"Shit! I knew it!"

"What's wrong, Ashpaw?" Goldpaw's voice asked him before being interrupted by a long yawn. The golden Avatar Cat stretched and licked his chest fur.

Ashpaw growled, "She took that damn book! I'm telling you, she's in love with that thing! She probably took it while we were sleeping and..."

But he never got to say another word, for he heard the rustling of bushes. Then, suddenly, he felt a large weight force him onto his belly. Ashpaw let out a scream of rage as he was dragged out of his nest by large jaws. He kicked backwards and turned to face a large brown-&-white tom whose face was bleeding as he pounced at him.

Ashpaw dodged the claws by rolling around, unsheathed his own claws, and leaped at the big tom; both toms fell to the ground and were biting and clawing each other fiercely. Behind him, Goldpaw was facing a large gray tabby-&-white tomcat with a harpoon net in his jaws. He fired it, but Goldpaw shot a ball of air from his mouth and fired at the approaching net. Unfortunately, the air only passed through the net and the net rolled him up into a nice neat bundle.

As he was thrown backwards onto the ground, another pirate cat began dragging him away. They instantly left Ashpaw alone, who got up and felt his pride hurt.

"Aw, come on, guys!" he complained after them. "Aren't _I _good enough to catch?"

When he finished, he felt something ensnare him and he fell to the ground. Since he was now caught in a net, the brown-&-white pirate cat took hold of it and dragged him away into the deciduous trees.

**...**

Silverpaw felt really tired during the night, so she had fallen asleep. It was really uncomfortable while sleeping and buried up to her neck in the sand. She had several nightmares of her mother being killed in a FireClan raid, and that caused her to stay up some parts of the night. Plus, no one had given her any food or water, so she was getting tired quite quickly.

Suddenly, she woke her eyes when she heard a yowl and two pirate cats approached Bearclaw and the other pirate cats, who were glaring at one another. These two pirate cats were holding two struggling lumps of fur in the nets. One was dark gray tabby and the other was golden and white.

_Goldpaw! Ashpaw! Did they get captured too?_

The pirate cats dumped the two toms out of the nests; Silverpaw could see that their paws were together with their tails. Irontail padded up to Silverpaw and patted her on the head with his paw. Bearclaw glared at the pirate cats and gave them a nod as if to say "Good job."

Silverpaw looked up and rasped to Goldpaw weakly, "Goldpaw, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

Goldpaw responded kindly, "Silverpaw, don't blame yourself. It's NOT your fault."

"Actually..." Irontail added, "...it kind of _is_ your fault."

Silverpaw said nothing, but she did give him a strange look. However, Goldpaw and Ashpaw glowered at the fat gray tabby elder before turning back to Bearclaw and the Captain. Those two seemed to be arguing back and forth.

"Give us the cat," Bearclaw spat.

"Give us the book!" the Captain hissed.

Not knowing what to do, Silverpaw glanced at her friends. She suddenly saw Ashpaw's face light up with an idea. Since he couldn't scratch his ear, he had to think like a normal cat. Then he began to interrupt them loudly:

"Seriously? You're handing over the Avatar Cat just for a stupid book?"

"Don't listen to that bastard!" Bearclaw snarled at the pirate cats, extracting his claws and baring his fangs. "Can't you see what he's trying to do to us? He's trying to turn us against each other!"

But Silverpaw knew what her littermate was trying to do. So, purring, she gave him a weak yet encouraging nod and Ashpaw nodded back. His pale blue eyes were glowing with the purpose of saving his sister from the claws of these cats.

The Captain glanced at Goldpaw, who was panting from wiggling about, around and meowed at Ashpaw, "Hold on, landlubber. Your shipmate here is the Avatar Cat?"

Ashpaw inched over to the Captain and replied, "Yep! He'll get a lot more money for you on the black market! It'll be more worthy than that book!"

"Shut the hell up, you little rat!" Bearclaw snapped angrily at Ashpaw, baring his teeth and saliva dripping from his lips.

"Yeah, Ashpaw," Goldpaw whispered to Ashpaw; Silverpaw could tell that the young AirBender was getting worried at the thought of that. "I think you really _should_ shut the hell up."

"I'm just saying," Ashpaw mewed to the pirate cats, looking sweetly with big eyes at them. The pirate cats did seemed to be interested in what the dark gray tabby cat was saying. "It's just the sense of business in the air! Imagine how much money Darkstar would offer you for the Avatar Cat! You'll be as rich as a pig among guinea pigs!"

Silverpaw was impressed. Her brother was well known for being a smooth-talker when it came to dealing. Now the Captain began thinking about what the prisoner told him and his amber eyes lit up. He turned to Bearclaw, ready to give his answer.

"The deal's off! You keep the book!" he growled, pointing his claws at him. "With the money we get from the kit, we'll buy hundreds of books!"

Bearclaw's amber eyes blazed with rage at hearing that. No one would dare stab him in the back, Silverpaw thought as the dark brown tabby tom stepped forward. Flames were flickering from his mouth and fire was enveloping his claws in a fiery outside layer.

"No one ever betrays my deal! I'll teach you what happens when you do that!" he roared.

Without warning, he leaped forward and unleashed flames from his mouth as the warriors behind him did the same. The flames bathed the ground underneath the pirates who jumped out of the way. General melee then began. Some other pirate cats jumped into the middle of the battle with a cry. Bearclaw and his cats then leaped onto the still-bound Goldpaw and Ashpaw.

As they got near, four pirate cats bounded into the fight to defend their captives. They dropped smoke grenades and the battlefield rapidly became a smoky mess. The lasting FireClan warriors approached the edge of the crowd and were pulled in by the paws of pirate cats emerging from the smoke.

Silverpaw coughed when the mist reached her and began seeping down her throat. She wished she could see what was happening, but she couldn't do it while buried in the sand. Just while she was thinking that, Tobias flew down from nowhere and began flapping his wings onto the sand, making it rise up. He scraped at the sand some more until Silverpaw was able to wriggle free and stretch her muscles.

"Thanks, Tobias!" Silverpaw beamed at him. "I owe you ten mice!"

Without further ado, Tobias flew off while she raced off.

Then she got into the middle of the battle and, while she got away from a bigger gray tabby cat, saw Goldpaw. The young golden tom was hopping through the smoke, coughing, his paws and tail still bound. He hopped out of the way of a throwing star, but a spear cut through the ropes, freeing him.

Silverpaw saw Bearclaw pushing the WaterBending Book out of the battle. He turned around to avoid a claw swipe from the Captain. Bearclaw got into a FireBending stance, and Silverpaw saw the Captain glaring at him with teeth bared. Then they began to fight and struggle, but no one gained the advantage.

A screech in the air told Silverpaw that Tobias picked up the book in his talons and flew off with the green parrot pursuing him. The parrot flew right into Tobias in mid-air, knocking the red-tailed hawk away and making him drop the book. It fell back down into the smoke filled combat zone, jets of flame erupting from it at a variety of points.

Back in the battle, Ashpaw was crawling on the ground with claws ripping fur and flesh all around him. Silverpaw saw her sibling notice a wolverine-tooth knife bury its point deeply into the ground. He moved forward and started to rub the edges on the ropes, slowly untying him.

He called out, "Hey, Goldpaw! Where are you?"

"Over here! Follow my voice!" Silverpaw heard Goldpaw yowl. She saw him leaping around with AirBending over the smoke.

"Where?"

Goldpaw continued jumping and yowling, "I said I'm over here, Ashpaw!"

The young Avatar Cat assumed an AirBending stance and blew away the smoke from the direct area. But when the smoke was dissipated, this exposed a mix of FireClan cats and pirate cats in conflict. All the cats froze and looked around at him with confusion.

He closed the smoke back up around them and yowled, "Never mind! I'll find you!"

Silverpaw saw Ashpaw free himself and run off through two cats tumbling around. Goldpaw did the same, except that he leaped out of the smoke over his head. Happy they were free, Silverpaw ran to the beach and tried to push the pirate ship into the water. It felt heavy like an elephant, but this was going to be worth it.

"Silverpaw! You're okay!" Goldpaw yowled to her when they caught up to her.

"I'm glad you're okay too," Silverpaw huffed as she shoved the ship again. "Now help me get this into the river. We need to get the hell out of here!"

At once, all three Clan apprentices began to push on the boat together, but nothing happened. They stopped and looked up at the prow.

Ashpaw looked up at the boat and panted, "Shit! We gotta have a herd of hippos to move this!"

"Will a herd of hippos do the trick...or two great WaterBenders?"

Goldpaw meowed this to him while turning around to smile and wink and Silverpaw. Silverpaw knew what he was thinking and she was now more than happy to help her friend out. She had also wanted to apologize for putting them in danger, but now wasn't the time.

The two cats placed their paws into the water and pulled the river back and forth up the beach, slowly raising the water level around the prow. The ship floated steadily over the water.

Silverpaw called, "All right, that's enough! Now let's get in!"

**...**

Blood sprayed itself over Bearclaw's face when he felt the Captain's teeth scratch his check. In retaliation, he gave a clawing attack with his hind paws at his belly. Blood flew from the wound where his claws struck. Bearclaw took the advantage and shoved the dark ginger tabby tom to the ground, both cats snarling with fury.

However, Bearclaw felt gentle teeth drag him from the top of the ginger cat and he stared up into the angry face of his uncle. He was staring down sternly at them through narrowed amber eyes.

Irontail scolded to the two cats, "Have you no shame? Have you been so busy quarreling that you haven't seen your own ship set sail?"

"We don't have time for your damn sayings, Uncle!" Bearclaw snarled.

"It's no saying," his uncle replied calmly as he pointed with his paw at the river. There, in the river, was the pirate ship with the Avatar Cat and his friends on board.

Suddenly, the Captain let out a disturbing yet funny yowl: "Bleeding baboon penises!" And after that, he ran off.

Bearclaw fell to the ground, laughing, "Ha-ha!"

But his laughter didn't last long and his laughter turned to a hiss of rage. The pirate cats had stolen his smaller ship also and several cats were sticking their tongues at him. One cat even waved his tail in the air at them and turned around to show them his...well, you know.

"What the hell? That's MY ship!" Bearclaw snarled, leaping away.

He could hear Irontail follow him and mutter, "Hmm...could be a useful saying."

**...**

Silverpaw and Goldpaw were keeping a lookout for any pirate cats that were chasing them. Just then, she saw Goldpaw looking at the rear at the pirates as they closed in. He turned around to yell forward to Ashpaw, "Hey, can't you make this go faster?"

"I'm trying, Goldpaw! But I can't drive anything that isn't WaterClan!" Ashpaw yowled back from the steering wheel of the ship.

The pirate cats were passing them. When the two ships drew parallel, pirate cats began leaping onto the apprentices' ship. As Silverpaw backed away from a couple of cats advancing towards her, she saw Goldpaw WaterBend some water onto his claws. Then he slammed them down, creating a large wave onto the deck that washed a pirate cat overboard.

Feeling a bit afraid at first, Silverpaw thought bravely and determinedly, _I can do this! _Now gaining confidence and willpower, she created some Water Claws and slammed them onto her pursuers, washing them overboard. She finally did it.

"Congratulations, Silverpaw! You just did the Water Claws!" Goldpaw praised her.

"Thanks, Goldpaw! Thanks to you, I did it!" Silverpaw purred back, feeling pride rise in her face and her voice echoed with joy.

But they heard Ashpaw yowl, "That's really nice, you two, but stop praising each other! I could use some help here!"

Momo flew over the cats at this point, closely pursued by the Captain's parrot. The chase ended when Tobias trapped the parrot by wrapping it in the pirate vessel's black flag.

Silverpaw heard a yowl from around her and she saw Ashpaw thrown against the sail by a large brown-&-white tom. Her brother fell to the ground, his face covered in bloody teeth wounds. Pinning him down, the black-&-white barker jeered before planting a paw onto his throat.

Just then, Goldpaw dropped into the scene and threw the pirate cats through the guard rail with a huge blast of air. He twirled the brown-&-white pirate cat around on a whirlwind of air for a few minutes before ejecting him high into the air. The tomcat came back down behind them, landing with a splash in the river.

While Silverpaw jumped forward to Ashpaw's limping form, Goldpaw leaped down beside them, ready to protect them with his life. Ashpaw pointed his tail to the front of the ship and Silverpaw rushed to the front, suddenly gasping at what was in front of them. A huge waterfall was just up ahead.

She called Goldpaw to her and squeaked to him, "Goldpaw, look!"

Goldpaw gasped in horror at what he saw and took the dragon whistle from his bag, blowing on it. Silverpaw squealed with terror at the black-&-white barker creeping up behind him with an unimpressed look on his face. Just when he raised his paw to strike them, Ashpaw flew forward and gave him a shove, pushing him off the ship.

"What the hell is wrong with you, mouse-brain?" Ashpaw snapped, cuffing his golden friend's ears. "There isn't time to do clarinet lessons!"

Goldpaw didn't hear him but joined up with Silverpaw, who was looking over the starboard railing at the waterfall. She suddenly got a great idea. She remembered one of the earlier lessons that she gave to Goldpaw: push and pull the water.

"Goldpaw, let's stop this ship! Remember: push and pull!" she meowed to him.

So the two cats ran to the foredeck and began WaterBending in unity, making several pushing and pulling motions through their front paws. Finally, the boat was now turning around right at the lip of the waterfall.

"It's working!" Silverpaw yowled with hope. "We're slowing down!"

So Goldpaw and Silverpaw continued to WaterBend the ship. It was now at a ninety-degree angle to the lip of the fall and stopped motionlessly.

"Good job! We're doing it!" Silverpaw praised Goldpaw.

"But we have other problems!"

Ashpaw's yowl made Silverpaw stop the Bending and leave it for Goldpaw to do. When she reached her brother, she let out a gasp of horror. Ashpaw was pointing with his tail to a cutter bearing down on the pirate ship.

The cutter rammed itself into the ship, making the cats fall off their paws and onto the deck at the impact. It lifted the starboard side of the pirate ship out of the water and, consequently, making the ship list poorly to port. The list quickly became so bad that the three cats fell off the ship and over the falls, the pirate ship falling behind them.

As the three cats screeched with terror as they fell, they heard the familiar sound of a dragon roar as Archie swooped toward them. The Asian Lung dragon swooped in and the cats landed on his back. He exited just in time to avoid the falling pirate ship, which crashed onto the rocks below.

While Tobias flew to them and landed on Ashpaw's shoulder, Goldpaw patted the dragon as he mewed, "I told you this would be good for us! Thanks a bunch, Archie," he added to his animal guide, hugging his horn.

"Yeah, we owe you one," Ashpaw put in, looking relieved.

Archie gave them an appreciative grunt and flew off into the sky.

**...**

"My ship!"

Bearclaw shouted this while running forward to see the ship crash. He and Irontail ran up to the river bank near the waterfall, Irontail panting and wheezing behind him.

But Irontail recovered well enough to chuckle impishly, "Hehehe. You're going to laugh your tail at this, Bearclaw. The lost phoenix piece was in my ear the entire time!"

The dark brown tabby tom whipped around to glare at his uncle pulling out from his ear a round little thing with a lily on it. Irontail had a big smile on his face as if he knew the piece was there the whole time. Bearclaw snarled at the thought of wasting all this time when they could have been on the right path.

Unable to control his temper, Bearclaw swiped his paw towards the lily piece, swiping it from his uncle's paw as fast as lightning. Letting out a roar, he hurled the piece as hard as he could over the waterfall, ignoring the shocked look on the gray tabby elder's face. Bearclaw glared up at the blue sky, ignoring the grunt of something below the waterfall.

**...**

While Archie sailed lazily through the sky, Silverpaw felt that this was the time to apologize to Goldpaw. Not for yelling at him since she already did that, but for putting her friends in danger.

"Goldpaw, I want to tell you how sorry I acted over these few hours," she mewed to him while sitting down next to him. While she apologized, she stared down at the saddle as if some prey had escaped from her claws. "I saw that you were just so good at WaterBending. Well, I got so jealous I put our lives on the line. I'm _so_ sorry."

"It's okay, Silverpaw. It really is," Goldpaw purred, touching her ear with his muzzle, his soft whiskers making her shredded ear twitch. Silverpaw replied by putting her fore legs around him and embracing him in an affectionate and loving hug.

Silverpaw let go of him and added, "Besides, we don't need that damn book anyways."

"Oh, contraire," Ashpaw suddenly mewed.

With shock and relief, Silverpaw watched as Ashpaw reached into his blue bag with his paw. To Silverpaw's surprise, he pulled out the WaterBending book and pushed it to her. She reckoned that he picked it up during the fight.

Reaching out with her muzzle, she rasped, "How did you-" But she stopped when Ashpaw pulled it away with his jaws and gave her the straps with his other paw.

Ashpaw gave her a look that was half amused and half solemn as he asked her, "Before you get this back, tell me this: what did you learn today?"

Silverpaw knew the answer. "I shall not steal. It is in the Ten Commandments of the Twolegs." Giving her brother an amused purr, she pulled the book back with her paw and added while laughing, "Unless the item in question is from pirate cats!"

Goldpaw laughed, "Great one, Silverpaw!"

Silverpaw gave him a wink and a twinkle in her dark blue eyes while Ashpaw shook his head in an exaggerated gesture of disappointment, yet he was actually amused. She was now pleased that she and her friends got the book from the pirate cats so that they could learn WaterBending.

Together.

But as Archie flew into the white clouds, Silverpaw learned that she had learned a lesson that day. And she vowed that she would never steal anything ever again...except if it was for survival!

_To be continued..._

**...**

**AvatarCat11: Sorry for the delay, everyone! It's just that I've been busy lately and other kinds of crap like that. But I hope everyone liked this chapter!**

**Katara: I like it! ...even though I feel bad for yelling at Aang like that. And I won't pretty much like the next episode either.**

**Holly: Why?**

**Katara: A good friend of ours betrays us; his name was Jet. But in the end, he-**

**AvatarCat11: (Places a finger on her lips) I know, and we all know. But don't make any spoilers. Okay?**

**Katara: Okay. And since I won't be here for a few episodes with taking care of my kids with Aang, I'll go ahead and say the review and preview thing.**

**Holly: Can she do that?**

**AvatarCat11: Sure.**

**Katara: Thanks. (To the readers) Anyone who reviews this chapter will receive a virtual plush doll of Simba or any character from the Lion King. AvatarCat11 dot it for the limited DVD edition today. And here's the preview for the episode called Flash.**

**Preview: Goldpaw and his small pack encounter a rogue cat who leads a large pack of his own cats against FireClan. Goldpaw and Silverpaw like this cat, but Ashpaw doesn't. And when this cat's plans are revealed, can Ashpaw and his friends trust him?**

**AvatarCat11, Katara, and Holly: Enjoy!**


	12. Flash

**AvatarCat11: Since Katara is away for now, Holly and I are doing the commentaries for a few chapters. Plus, I hope you all heard that Sony had her puppies last Sunday night.**

**Holly: I already did. (Goes big-eyed from before) And they're SO CUTE! (Does a fan girl squeal)**

**AvatarCat11: (Stares at her with shock) Dang, Holly. I never knew you'd do a fan girl scream.**

**Holly: (Blushes) Sorry. Anyways, who should say the disclaimer and summary?**

**Fanfic meister: (Comes into the room) I will.**

**Disclaimer: AvatarCat11 has no wish of owning Avatar: The Last AirBender or Warrior Cats. Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter own those two.**

**Summary: ****Goldpaw and his small pack encounter a rogue cat who leads a large pack of his own cats against FireClan. Goldpaw and Silverpaw like this cat, but Ashpaw doesn't. And when this cat's plans are revealed, can Ashpaw and his friends trust him?**

**Updating Date: December 13, 2011**

**AvatarCat11, Holly, and fanfic meister: Enjoy!**

**...**

_Flash_

Tobias let out a happy screech as he glided over the tops of a vast deciduous forest. The trees were blanketed in leaves of fiery reds and oranges; there was just a hint of green left on one or two in leaf-bare. The air was alive with the chirps and whirrs of insects.

A little brown squirrel caught the hawk's attention as it scuttled from around the backside of the branch, toward the trunk. The rodent was suddenly covered in a rapidly growing shadow as Tobias swooped in from above, his talons extended. He could taste the warm taste of squirrel meat in his gullet before it could go into his gizzard.

Before he could catch it, however, the squirrel opened up its forepaws to reveal the membrane like a bat's wings and it flew off while he peeked under his talons to see if he got it. Discovering that he hadn't, Tobias flew off after it, determined to catch the rodent as he flapped his wings harder. The squirrel flew up the trunk of a gigantic oak tree with Tobias soaring in pursuit and squawking. They rung around the giant tree, then they descended to the ground below them.

He saw the squirrel crawl out from underneath a root and Tobias extended his talons, ready to strike when he got close to the ground. The red-tailed hawk landed in a pounce from the same direction, but once again the squirrel flew off before he could catch it. He watched it fly away as he ruffled his feathers angrily, hoping that he could catch something else really soon.

But just then, he noticed a pile of roast canaries on the ground on a couple of leaves. With a hungry caw, Tobias hopped forward to the canaries, picked one up in his talons, and began feasting on it.

Suddenly, copper-colored boards snapped up from the leaves and surrounded him in a sphere. The snare's slats ran longitudinally while the poles are parallel to the ground. The sphere shifted so that the northern pole was on top and he was pulled up into the canopy as the snare and its cargo sprung into the air, where two other snares hung.

Tobias' snare came to a jerking stop at about the level in the air as the two other snares. They were also occupied: large brown baboons were barking noisily, as they held onto the slats like prison bars and pulled on them. The momentum of the ascent left the snare and Tobias spinning.

With a caw, Tobias began calling for help. The baboons followed his lead and began barking like crazy.

**...**

Ashpaw, Goldpaw, and Silverpaw were digging into their fresh-kill and relaxing from traveling. Ashpaw was ripping into a rabbit, Goldpaw was nipping the meat from a thrush, and Silverpaw was wagging her tail while chewing on fish meat. Archie, however, had found a few pineapples to chomp on since he was an omnivore.

"Has anyone seen Tobias lately?" Goldpaw asked his friends.

Silverpaw reassured him by answering, "Maybe he went hunting for a little bit."

Suddenly, a recognizable caw and a number of different animal noises began drifting into the cats' ears. Ashpaw sniffed the air; Tobias' scent was faint, yet it was still there, and the others must be baboons. Then Tobias' louder caws reached their ears again, making Goldpaw get up in a hurry.

Both Ashpaw and Silverpaw stood onto their hind legs and looked around, trying to tell where the cawing came from. But they both knew that the hawk was in jeopardy by the stress in the call. So they got down on their front paws and followed their golden friend into the forest.

**...**

All three cats dashed down the forest path as they got near the hawk's distraught cawing. Then Ashpaw saw Goldpaw look up to the branches of the trees and he saw it: there was a sphere-like trap dangling from a branch, and in the trap was Tobias, shrieking like crazy. This was enough to make a mouse go deaf.

"Hang on, Tobias! I'm coming!" Goldpaw yowled, sweeping his tail around him and leaping up with a burst of AirBending. The golden tom was already leaping to Tobias' height by springing back up off nearby tree trunks.

Ashpaw saw what the trap was attached to. It was indeed a tree branch extending out of a main part of the tree. Attached to the trunk was a small winch. A rope entered the winch from a place lower on the trunk, and then it continued up to an eye loop bolt attached to the underside of the branch before hanging straight down. He knew about it because his father and leader, Emberstar, taught him the ways of technology.

Goldpaw finally ascended to the branch where Tobias was held prisoner. He sat patiently as if he were catching a crab, then he flipped over the branch and dangled beneath it like a gibbon on a swing. He grabbed the rope in his jaws, released a latch on the winch, and warily fed some more line. Down below, Silverpaw and Ashpaw eased the snare down to the ground between them and together pulled the squeaky slats apart enough to make an exit.

Tobias immediately flew out and flapped over to the ground in front of them to finish a mouthful of canaries, his peril gone. Ashpaw let out a sigh of irritation as he and Silverpaw released the snare.

_Hawks can be so ungrateful! _He snarled to himself in rage as he smacked his forehead with his paw. Goldpaw leaped down from the branches and looked up at the branches; his companions followed his lead.

The baboons were gazing pleadingly at the three cats and the hawk. Ashpaw didn't have any time for another rescue, but Goldpaw was gazing up at them with pity in his dark gray eyes. The dark gray tabby tom remembered that his friend was an animal-loving cat.

Goldpaw nodded and purred, "Aw, what the hell? I'll get you down also." He crouched low to the ground, and then he sprung up in a spiraling column of AirBended wind that carried him up to the branches where the traps were keeping the baboons prisoners.

Not wanting to waste time, Ashpaw reached into his bag and snapped, "We don't have time for him to do that."

So he pulled out his badger-bone boomerang and hurled it with all his might in one movement. Just below the branch, the ropes came from reverse directions, but they paralleled each other as they hung down from curved staples. With a whiz, the boomerang cut both of the ropes in the procedure. The ropes fell away, then there was the sound of crashing, and there was the alarmed beasts' barking

"Oh. I guess that works, too," Goldpaw called, hanging below the branch as he inched over to the first fastener. He paused to look upside-down at the ground below.

Once on the ground, the two baboons were free, their cages like open clams. They walked on all fours to different directions; one vanished between the framing trees around them, and the other climbed up the tree bordering the left and disappeared. Ashpaw leaned towards to the trap, pulled the straps on a roll of gear, and sniffed it. Above him, Goldpaw leaped down from the tree and landed carefully on the ground.

_FireClan scent._

Ashpaw grunted, "From the way the metal works on here operate, these are FireClan traps. We gotta pack up and get the Dark Forest outta here."

**...**

Back at camp, the three cats were hard at work at packing up camp. Silverpaw rolled up some bags and tossed them to Goldpaw, who was sitting at the top of Archie's head. But when Ashpaw saw this, he felt this wasn't a good idea. So he padded over to the two other cats while leaving his things, and beckoned for Goldpaw to get down.

"No sir. No flying this time," he informed the Avatar Cat.

"What the hell?" Silverpaw whined.

But Goldpaw didn't argue. He threw down the bags to Ashpaw, who held them down, and asked his question, "Why can't we fly?"

Ashpaw sighed. This was actually more complicated than this, but he decided to give them the easy facts. "Think about it. Bearclaw and his FireClan pack keep tracking us down; it's because of Archie. He's too visible!"

Silverpaw snorted with disbelief. "No he's not!"

"Well, what'd you expect?" Ashpaw retorted. "He's a big white flying furry lizard with a black arrow on his head! It'll be ease to find him!"

On top of Archie, Archie gave a groan right in Ashpaw's face. It seemed that he had heard the comment and was displeased about it. Goldpaw hung on to his guide animal's head and grasped the reigns in his jaws.

"Aw, don't worry, buddy," the golden Avatar Cat mewed to his animal guide. "Ashpaw's just jealous 'cause he doesn't have a special marking."

Ashpaw chose to ignore the comment because he was happy to not have a special marking; it could give them away to predators, enemies, or prey. Anyways, he meowed, "Look, I know you really want to fly, but my instincts tell me we should lay low and walk."

"Who died and made you top dog?" Silverpaw retorted.

"I'm the leader, not the top dog!" Ashpaw snapped with irritation. _Why aren't these two taking me seriously?_

Silverpaw had a disbelieving look on her face as she scoffed, "You? Leader? Your voice is still cracking!"

Ashpaw's voice cracked a little as he squeaked, "I'm the oldest cat in this pack and I'm in training to be a warrior like you!" After hearing about how absurd he quite sounded, he added in a gruffer voice, "Sooo...I'm the leader, and what I say goes!"

"Well, if anyone deserves to be the leader, it's Goldpaw. He is the Avatar Cat after all," Silverpaw meowed to him while smiling at Goldpaw.

The AirClan apprentice was dangling upside-down from Archie's horn by his front paws with his hind legs sticking out into space. The large male dragon looked rather unimpressed by this antic. He just gave a yawn and plopped down right there for the count.

"You serious?" Ashpaw huffed icily. "That damn cat's nothing but a goofy kit!"

Goldpaw leaped down from Archie's horn to meow, "Yep, he's right."

Ashpaw didn't want Silverpaw to know he appreciated hearing Goldpaw telling him he was right; that would make her sneer at him some more. So, without another word, he rolled up his bags and hoisted them onto his back.

Silverpaw meowed, "Why do toms think they're better leaders? If a she-cat cuddled with you, you wouldn't be so grouchy and bossy!"

That made Ashpaw shudder with meekness; the last she-cat who nuzzled him was Echo In Quiet Storm, the red tabby island-guard of the Tribe of Heavy Roses. She gave given him a lick on the cheek right before they went away from the island. He wasn't sure if she liked him just because she licked him on the cheek; it was just a friendship lick. So he decided to keep this one a secret.

"Of course I nuzzled with a she-cat! You...uh...haven't met her yet!"

"Who? Grandma Rainbreeze?" Silverpaw taunted him, her blue eyes glowing with scorn. "I met her before lots of times."

"No! Besides Rainbreeze!" Ashpaw retorted heatedly. Not wanting to be harsh, he gave a sigh and went on, "Look, my instincts are telling me we can survive better if we travel by foot. A leader needs to trust his instincts."

Silverpaw rolled her eyes, bowed in an embellished way, and meowed derisively, "Yes, Oh Wise Leader. We shall do what you say."

Goldpaw appeared in between the two quarreling WaterClan cats with a bog on his back and Tobias perched on top. He gave each of them a look and wagged his tail in an excited way.

Then Goldpaw mewed, "Well, I bet you didn't walk outside long enough, Silverpaw. Besides, it's good exercise. Walking rocks!"

**...**

"Walking sucks!" Goldpaw whined as he trotted on. Between the trees, the pack hiked along, with Ashpaw in front, followed by Goldpaw and Tobias, Silverpaw, and Archie. Goldpaw moaned on, "Why the hell would ANYONE walk without an Asian Lung?"

"I don't know, Goldpaw," Silverpaw told him with a pretend curious tone. "How about we ask Ashpaw's instincts? They seem to know everything!"

Ashpaw turned around to scowl at his littermate while Goldpaw's eyes lit up with wonder. "Oh, so funny, guys," he growled sarcastically.

Goldpaw let his ears prick up once again with wonder when Ashpaw turned back around as he mewed to Silverpaw, "That's a great idea!" To Ashpaw, he called, "Yo, Ashpaw's instincts! Can you..."

"Okay, I get it!" Ashpaw snapped, whirling back to them with frustration.

The two other cats looked back at him with surprise. He gave a sigh, meaning he didn't mean to be so harsh. He just wanted them to know he knew what he was doing.

So he rasped, "Listen. I'm tired too. But look on the bright side; the best thing to know is we're safe from..." he shoved the branches from two red-leafed bushes and held them in place them, focusing his attention on Goldpaw and Silverpaw.

But he finally turned around to see what was beyond the bushes.

"F-Fire...C-Clan..."

The apprentices (and Tobias) had just walked into a clearing with a FireClan camp in it. On the opposite end of the clearing were three bison-made tents, and a lively fire cavity with logs as benches on two sides. The camp was occupied with FireClan warriors.

Most of them were seated or crouching near the fire with bowls on the ground. The surprise of others was clearly on their faces. A couple of warriors were seated closest to the tents, which had door flaps with the FireClan emblem on them. One of these warriors was a white tabby tom with a missing eye where it should cover the eye socket.

"Run!" Ashpaw yowled as he dropped his bag. The others followed suit.

As they dropped their packs, the warriors leaped up from the logs, their claws unsheathed. The one-eyed warrior took a FireBender's stand and launched a paw-full of fire at them from his claws. The fire just missed them mostly, but it did set the bushes behind them in flames.

Ashpaw felt fear rise in him as he hissed, "Shit! We're trapped!"

"Ashpaw! Your tail!"

Goldpaw's yowl made him turn around and saw that the golden cat was right; his tail WAS on fire. Pain shot through his tail as the fur on it began to singe and turn into a blackened length of bone and fur. Silverpaw used her teeth to uncork a skin container on her neck and began to Bend the content's water into a flowing ribbon. The ribbon of water splashed against Ashpaw's tail, putting it out, and his sister redirected the water into the skin to seal it shut.

The trio was now surrounded: the smoldering bushes behind them, the warriors all around them. They put their backs together and backed away as they faced the warriors, ready to clash if needed.

Ashpaw stepped forward and spat, "If you let us come through here, we swear to not kill you."

"What are you doing, you damn mouse-brain?" Silverpaw hissed angrily yet quietly.

"Bluffing. Don't tell them, please." This was Ashpaw's reply before backing away once again. He hoped that the bluff would work.

But the one-eyed white cat stalked forward, sneering, and jeered at Ashpaw, "Yeah, right. You promising not to kill us? I'd bet a moon of dawn patrols we get to tear your throat out!"

Suddenly, there was a quiet ZIP and THUD. The white-furred Captain looked surprised for a moment, and then he suddenly groaned and collapsed on the ground, knocked out. His warriors unsheathed their claws just a little with fright.

Goldpaw gazed at Ashpaw and mewed, "Awesome! How'd you do that?"

Ashpaw himself wasn't sure about what was happening, so he just shrugged and answered him, "Um... instincts?"

"Guys, look!" Silverpaw howled while pointing her tail to whatever was moving through the trees.

The two toms and the other FireClan cats looked up to see what it was: there was a cat perching on the massive branch of a nearby tree. The cat dropped something and drew a long blade with two hooks from the middle of his back. He stepped off the back of the branch, his weapon held high in his jaws. Instead of falling straight down, the weapon seemed to catch on the branch, allowing him to sling himself in the course of the camp. The stranger kicked over two of the cats farthest from the trio; he landed with two paws on each of their backs.

The stranger was revealed to be a tom taller than Ashpaw himself and this cat was so striped with brown and ginger that it was impossible to see what color he really was. He had a twig sticking out of his mouth and he had fierce amber eyes.

He rushed forward, his twin hook sword in his strong jaws. He hooked a leg each on another pair of warriors and sent them head over heels. With a refined body spin, he launched them through the air as they ended up in a heap on top of their knocked-out captain.

"Knock out!" the striped tom meowed to the trampled cats as he got to his paws, ready for more.

The three Clan cats looked up from the little mound at him. They had gone in a change of facial changes from surprise to changeable degrees. There were looks of delight (from Silverpaw), wonder (Goldpaw), and skepticism (Ashpaw).

A tan cat rushed up from behind the rogue, teeth bared. The young tom grabbed his opponent's neck as he spun around. He finished where he started, getting ready to face a new foe while his opponent was sent soaring. The tomcat landed at the paws of a foursome of sword holding cats.

The closest of them looked up to the trees. "They're in the trees!" he yowled with fear.

Just then a small ginger-&-white tomkit jumped down from above and landed on the warrior's shoulders, then he spun his helmet around, blinding him. He staggered off, his tiny foe still on his shoulders and laughing all the while. Before the remaining three FireClan cats could react, arrows zipped from above, disarming each cat without hurting him.

The three apprentices looked up to see a pale tabby archer sitting on a branch. He reached for a quiver on his back and fit two arrows to the string of his bow. The pale tabby archer swung back, until he was hanging beneath the branch by his back paws, then he let arrows fly from the bow in his mouth. The chief cats had their daggers knocked from their paws by the arrows, while a gray tabby tom leaped from a low branch to the ground.

As the two disarmed warriors ran off, another tabby cat charged at the stranger. This rogue tom ducked, let the FireClan tom run into (and across) his back, and tossed his foe up onto the branch with a nod. The second warrior was more alert, but with speed and strength, the gray cat grabbed him by the throat, spun him around, and threw him to the ground, bleeding. Then he turned and headed for fresh targets before his old one hit the ground. Meanwhile, a tortoiseshell cat with a knife in her jaws and red face paint dropped down and ran off to fight.

Ashpaw's friends got into the fight also; Silverpaw had her claws grow ice on them and she was dodging the blows of a brown-&-gray cat. Goldpaw AirBended the air, dragging two tomcats in a dusty circle around the pair.

Deciding that lying about wouldn't help, Ashpaw began to hunt for a cat to fight. He saw a big gray-&-white tabby tom charge at him, hissing with fury. Ashpaw lunged forward to meet him with his teeth bared and his claws sliding out. But before they could fight, the brown-&-ginger striped tom leaped in and used his dagger to pole vault the attacker into the chest of his ally, who went flying in the opposite direction.

Ashpaw furiously spat at the rogue, "What the hell? He was _my_ target!"

"Be quicker next time," the rogue replied with a smirk before turning around and leaping away again. Silverpaw looked very impressed but Ashpaw left the battle, angry that his skills were being denied.

As Ashpaw watched, two warriors backed away towards the forest, but before they could escape, a massive ginger-&-white tom dropped to the ground. As they turned to confront him, their faces turned to fright as he came out of his drop crouch and loomed above them. Quickly, they calmed down and unsheathed their claws again. The beaming badger-sized cat simply reached over his shoulder with his front paws and pulled out a log thicker than a boa's body. He raised it two-pawed over his head, and, with a growl, lowered the boom.

Meanwhile, the striped rogue turned from his recent enemy to watch the two warriors backing away, their claws ripped out; they forgot to pick them up and fled into the forest. He grinned and turned around to face the determined warrior. The white tom swiped his claws toward his throat, but he caught the cat by the paw with his fangs. They struggled for a moment, before the striped tom spun and sidestepped the paw. With his hooksword, he hooked the tom, who went flying. He landed onto the back of a nearby FireClan cat, knocking him out.

The slumped warrior cat revealed his opponent to be Ashpaw, ready to give an attack with his bear-bone club. He looked at the downed cat with displeasure.

"StarClan damn it!" he spat.

Another cat with a spear tried to strike the rogue from behind. Just in time, the rogue tom caught the spear point in the space between the grip and the crescent-shaped handle of his sword and sent it away from his head. The FireClan tom quickly followed the spear, pushing it free and facing the younger tom again with a flourish. The striped cat also quickly recovered his stance, caught the spear tip with his hooked sword this time, and angled the spear into the ground. He sprinted up it, leaped, kicked off the back of the foe's head, and fell a few pawsteps forward before stopping in front of Silverpaw as if he had meant to do all of it.

The tall rogue stared down at her with dark amber eyes and meowed calmly, "Hey there."

"Um...hi," Silverpaw purred back, her cheeks turning red at seeing the rogue. Ashpaw did not like the look she gave this outsider; there was something about him he didn't trust.

Ashpaw sprinted up ahead, not wanting to see this little scene anymore. He had always joked about Goldpaw and Silverpaw liking each other, but this cat wasn't going to get his paws on his little sister! So he stalked back into the empty camp where Goldpaw and the other battlers were waiting.

When the striped stranger and Silverpaw stepped out of the bushes, Goldpaw meowed to the tom in awe, "I can't believe you took on a pack of warriors single-pawed! That was awesome!"

"So what?" Ashpaw growled, twisting his head around to groom the dust off of his back. "There were only twenty cats!"

The strange tom raised a paw for silence and introduced himself and his cats: "My name is Flash, leader of the Freedom Fighters. These cats are my Freedom Fighters: Growler..." He pointed his tail to the gray tabby tom chomping on a roast pheasant, "...Spearhead..." He pointed to the pale tabby tom, who raised his bow and arrows, "...Hornet..." He pointed to the tortoiseshell cat, who wielded her knife in greeting, "...and finally, but not the least, The Dude and Tiny." At that, both ginger-&-white cats nodded in greeting.

Goldpaw approached them with a silly look on his face and chuckled to the smaller ginger-&-white kit, "Tiny? It suits you!"

The small kit sniffled and looked down in humiliation for some odd cause and Ashpaw was ready to scold the Avatar Cat for mocking someone's name. Just before he could get his paws on him, the massive ginger-&-white tom stepped in between them and towered above Goldpaw.

"You think my name's funny?" he snarled.

"No...it's hilarious!" Goldpaw smiled tensely up at him.

For a few seconds, the big tom just glared at him. Then suddenly...he began to laugh a booming laugh. He started to roll on the ground and laugh his head off (not really). Goldpaw and the Dude joined in the hilarity with Tiny as he rose to his paws and by chance patted Goldpaw so hard on the head that he fell to the ground.

Ashpaw stepped forward to fend him off, but Goldpaw got back up and continued laughing with Tiny and the Dude. The Avatar Cat was now in the midst of friends.

_If you call them friends..._

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Back in the FireClan camp, the Freedom Fighters were looting the place dry. The middle fire was out, and members of Flash's Freedom Fighters were nearby as Spearhead checked the weapons and Growler examined a couple of supply crates. Ashpaw just watched with confusion as Hornet padded past him with a jawful of poles.

He glanced around to see that Flash was lying under the giant oak tree on the edge of the camp while he swirled his stick around in his mouth. Ashpaw began to growl angrily when Silverpaw approached the brown-&-ginger tom shyly.

She mewed, "Uh, Flash, thanks for saving our pelts back there. We were lucky you came by."

"Nah, _we_ should thank you, comrade," Flash replied, waving his tail superficially yet with a hint of pride.

_Arrogant toad! _Ashpaw sneered silently as Flash went on, "We were waiting for ages to ambush those bastards all morning; we just needed the right interruption. And then you guys came across them, so we decided to help."

"Well, we were just relying on instincts, "Silverpaw meowed, her voice sound scornful when she said _Instincts._

Flash shook his head with fake indignation as he replied loftily, "Don't rely on those too much, or you'll be FireClan chow."

Ashpaw felt really stung and upset by this in view of the fact that he was close enough to hear the conversation. He closed his eyes in aggravation at his bad call and padded away, clawing at the ground in a sorrowful way. It wasn't fair his sister had no faith in him.

Behind him, Tiny and the Dude investigated the inside of a barrel next to one of the pavilion tents. The Dude reached in with a curious paw and pulled away with his paw coated with green goo. He sniffed it experimentally and tasted it a little by lapping at it with his tongue; after his eyes widened with the effect of it, he squeaked with surprise.

He called, "Yo, Comrade Flash! There's some Exploding jelly in this barrel!"

"Awesome! Good score, Comrade The Dude!" Flash praised the small kit, heaving to his paws with Silverpaw by his side.

"And this one's fully of jelly candy like jelly beans!" Tiny added cheerfully. He shoveled out some of the beans with a massive paw and scooped some of them into his broad mouth.

Flash gave the giant tom an approving nod and added, "That's also good, Comrade Tiny! Just don't mix that stuff up."

Goldpaw and Tobias were inquisitively watching Growler, Tiny, and the Dude loading up some supplies into the wagon. Tiny must have watched Goldpaw gaze at them with gratitude because he purred, "We're takin' this stuff back to our hiding place!"

"You guys have a hiding place? Where?" Goldpaw mewed with excitement.

"Somewhere around these woods." Flash had walked toward the golden Avatar Cat with a cheery air. "So you wanna see it or not?"

To Ashpaw's annoyance, Silverpaw instantaneously and literally slid over to the gathering cats and stopped in front of Flash. Her dark blue eyes were sparkling with admiration and she was actually begging. She was kneeling down in front of the rogue as she pleaded with him, "Yes, please! We wanna see it!"

Ashpaw shook his head; his sister could sometimes act like a little kit when she begged their mother or father for something. He had a right mind to reprimand her, but Flash appeared to be okay with that, for he smiled in a self-assuring manner and meowed:

"Sure."

**...**

As everyone padded through the forest, the cats looked around to see huge trees whose trunks were so gigantic that even Archie looked like he wasn't the biggest living thing on the planet. Flash stopped in front of one oak tree trunk and looked up through the branches, nodding up at it.

Turning around on the spot, he announced loudly, "Well, we're here, everyone!"

"What the hell do you mean?" Ashpaw snapped, stalking up ahead of the other cats, ignoring Silverpaw's hardened glare, and stood nose to nose with the tall handsome rogue. "What place were you talking about? There's nothing there!"

"Here, hold this," Flash just replied, handing Ashpaw a rope with a small platform on the end of it.

Ashpaw just gave him a confused look, not knowing what this thing would do, but he soon got the answer. The loop ended up tying itself around Ashpaw's hind leg like a snake and, without warning, he was pulled up by his paw into a nearby tree canopy. As a final insult, Ashpaw got temporarily stuck in the verdant branches as he gave a surprised yowl.

"What about you, Goldpaw?" Flash asked the Avatar Cat.

"Thank you, but I'll get up on my own," Goldpaw mewed politely much unlike Ashpaw. Tobias launched himself from Goldpaw's shoulder and fluttered up to the higher branches. And the Avatar Cat followed his hawk with an AirBender leap through between tree trunks like a ninja cat.

Flash allowed another platform to come down before turning to Silverpaw and holding out his tail. "Hold on to me, Silverpaw."

**[Holly: (To AvatarCat11, who is groaning) What's wrong?]**

**[AvatarCat11: You'll see.]**

Silverpaw padded forward, but she stumbled a little and, to Ashpaw's anger, landed right into Flash's chest, making her blush out of control. The rope slowly pulled them into the air, the embrace Silverpaw's only means of support. She smiled very nervously, then she looked around and up at Flash. He was focusing on their way up: the handsome daring rogue.

Ashpaw let out a furious snarl as Flash called out, "You wanna join us?"

"No, thank you!" Ashpaw snapped very brusquely. "I'll climb up all by myself!"

At this, he began climbing harder and harder up the tree trunk, wanting to slash Flash to shreds for being with his sister like that. _That mouse-brained, fox-dung eating, baboon butt-kissing, piss-slurping..._

**(AvatarCat11: Forgive me, please, for putting this many details in an insult. But just like what Garfield says: Insults are just too inviting.)**

He was thinking these very aggressive thoughts so much that he didn't notice. Letting out a yowl, he slipped and almost fell if it wasn't for Goldpaw. The golden tom had grabbed the dark gray cat by the scruff and took him to the peak of the trees. Ashpaw noticed that Flash and Silverpaw climbed through the hole of a plank-covered platform, then they landed on it and the floating platform sunk down back to the ground.

Ashpaw let out a hiss at seeing them together, but Goldpaw nudged his friend to relax and look around. Wooden stairs twisted up the trunk and suspension bridges connected their platforms to another place. All workmanship was of the tree house's quality, Ashpaw had to admit as he watched Goldpaw and Tobias leave the small pack to slide around on the branches.

"Awesome place, Flash!" the golden AirClan cat called out happily.

When he saw Flash and Silverpaw pad toward one bridge, Ashpaw suspiciously followed them, having doubts about the striped rogue. It was revealed that several nearby trees had the same platforms, stairways, and bridges. Several platforms had huts like some cats from WaterClan would use in tough weather.

"It's so beautiful!" Silverpaw exclaimed as she looked around this treetop village.

Flash nodded right back at her and agreed, "Yeah, you're right, Silverpaw. It IS beautiful up here. But the best part is, no FireClan cat will reach us up here."

Suddenly, Hornet swooped out from nowhere and landed right beside Flash as they padded on. "And FireClan would love to get their paws on Flash. Right, Comrade Flash?"

"Correct, Comrade Hornet, but that ain't gonna happen. Never have, never will," Flash replied, shaking his fur as leaves fell around them.

Ashpaw wondered about choosing to either let Flash get caught up here with other rogues, but he decided his friends would be counted as rogues if they were caught. So he kept his mouth shut while following the other rogues as they walked on a bridge with Goldpaw leaping above their heads.

Silverpaw padded up to beside Flash and asked him, "So why do FireClan want to catch you so badly?"

Flash gazed at her with amber eyes as he responded, "You can say I cause them trouble, but they always bite a little more than they could chew. But there's a bit of trouble in this forest lately. You see, they started taking over a nearby EarthClan town just a stone's throw away a few years ago. So we began fighting back."

"Yeah!" Tiny piped up as the huge ginger-&-white tom joined up with his companions and went on to Silverpaw, "You see, we've waylaid their warriors, cut off their supply lines, stole their fresh-kill, and killed their hunting dogs. And we've done anything else we can to piss 'em off!"

But it was unknown to the others that Ashpaw tried his best to see over Tiny. He kept hopping up and down to get a quick look over the huge cat's shoulders. But it didn't work out to well for him.

"You're right, Comrade Tiny. And one day," Flash finished while raising his tail high in the air, "we will drive FireClan from our territory and free the town from their cruel rule!"

"That's so brave of you," Silverpaw gushed.

Her niceness to this rogue was so much that Ashpaw couldn't bear to hear this. So he rushed to the front, speaking ironically, "Yep, nothing's better or braver than a dude living in tree huts."

All the cats stopped to give him suspicious looks and Ashpaw didn't flinch when he saw nothing but contempt glittering in his sister's glare. While she glared at him, Silverpaw growled to Jet, "Ignore him. He's just being a mouse-brain."

Angrily, Ashpaw lowered himself to the ground and slunk away. Flash waved his tail jokily again and reassured her, "Hey, it's okay with me. He probably had a shitty day today."

"So do all you and your cats live up here?" Silverpaw mewed, failing to remember to be angry at her brother.

"Yep," Flash replied to her, his voice suddenly soft. He pointed his tail to Spearhead the archer, whose head was bowed slightly, and meowed to Silverpaw, "FireClan cats invaded his town and ruined it by burning it to the ground." Pointing his tail to the Dude, he went on, "And we found The Dude here trying to kill a chicken we were going to save for later uses. I think he never was raised by his parents, but he trained himself to catch birds."

_So? Goldpaw could catch a lot of birds! _Ashpaw felt the retort bubble up in his throat, but he held it back just in case the other cats stared at him again and Silverpaw to scold him. But his sister then asked Flash:

"And you?"

Just then, Flash looked over his shoulder at her and stopped while the other cats marched on, leaving him, Silverpaw, and Ashpaw alone together. He glanced down to the platform and sighed, "My parents were killed by FireClan cats when I was just three moons old. Their deaths made me a changed cat forever."

Silverpaw reached forward and touched Flash's ear with her nose, much to Ashpaw's dismay, and she murmured, "I'm sorry, Flash. Ashpaw and I saw our mother being killed by a FireClan cat. We were three moons old too."

"I'm so sorry, you two," Flash replied, gazing at both cats with compassion in his tawny gaze.

Ashpaw hated the rogue right now, but it was hard not to take pity on him; after all, he knew how hard it was to lose a mother. So he just gave him a nod and walked away from the two other cats.

**...**

Archie had been left by the three Clan apprentices to laze around near the emergent layer of the forest. A flock of cawing birds was disturbed and flew into the dark blue sky as the Asian Lung dragon raised his head through the thick verdant branches with a grumble. Meanwhile, the owls were out and hunting, their large eyes ready to spot prey fox-lengths away.

Down in the canopy of the forest, in the hideout below, ropes with lustrous lanterns dangled between the branches. Sentries kept watch on several upper platforms while the pack sat at a banquet table on a vast platform. And yes, our three heroes were with them. In front of them, food like monitor lizards and turkeys had been laid out by plates stolen from FireClan cats.

While the cats ate and drank, Flash leaped to the top of the table and he announced, "Comrades, once again, we landed another hard blow onto those evil FireClan scumbags today!"

His pack at the table and around the trees cheered and even Goldpaw and Silverpaw joined in with smiles on their faces. But Ashpaw kept himself out of it grumpily.

"I laughed hard when I saw the look on one warrior's face as Comrade The Dude plunked down onto his head as softly as moss and rode him around on his back like a laughing jackass," Flash went on proudly. At this, the Dude climbed onto the table and copied a kicking donkey, making everyone except Ashpaw hoot with laughter.

Flash stood up again and meowed to everyone, "Now, that dishonorable FireClan think I they shouldn't worry about a couple of rogue cats hiding in trees. They could be right," he added, prepared to take a drink of wine from his timber cup.

At this, every cat at the table let out yowls of rage, but then Flash yowled deafeningly, his face glowing from the red light, "Or they could be as wrong as HELL!"

This made the other cats cheer for him wildly once again.

Flash left the table and sat on the platform between Silverpaw and Ashpaw, who was still angry at the brown-&-ginger tom for flirting with his sister. Silverpaw just mewed to Flash, "That was a cool speech you gave to your pack."

"Thanks; you seem to be filled on compliments. And that's a compliment," Flash praised her and she was left purring in his direction. That made Ashpaw disgusted at her behavior. "Also, I was really impressed with you and Goldpaw today. Awesome Bending I saw today."

"Of course he's great. He's the Avatar Cat!" Silverpaw purred, and she blushed as she mewed, "I'd prefer some more training myself."

Flash nodded to Goldpaw, who nodded back, and meowed to the silver she-cat, "So he's the Avatar Cat, eh? Nice one!"

Goldpaw replied, "Thanks, Flash!"

The Freedom Fighter leader nodded in reply. "You know what? There's a way you two could help our comrades in our struggle against FireClan."

That was enough for Ashpaw to bear because he thought he was making up an excuse to flirt with his littermate or beat up Goldpaw. He couldn't trust rogues, but he could trust loners. Loners were more likely to help out Clan cats while rogue cats would be hostile. Flash wasn't acting mean, but there was something he didn't trust.

"Sorry, but we can't help you right now," he growled, getting up from the table and padding away. "We need to go NOW."

"Oh, come on, Ashpaw!" Flash pleaded with him in a mock hurt voice, his amber eyes shining with fake surprise. "You're joking! And to think you'd come along for the special mission!"

_Secret mission? _Ashpaw was interested in the secret mission now, so he twisted around on the spot and asked Flash:

"What secret mission?"

**...**

The next day at dawn, Ashpaw leaped through the branches after Flash and the other Freedom Fighters went up ahead of them. Despite having WaterClan blood in his veins, he also had a bit of another ancient Clan in his blood: ThunderClan. There was also some other blood he thought he had, but he forgot where.

The cats finally stopped at a tree and Flash raised his muzzle to let out a crow-like caw. Other crow-like sounds bounced back to him several trees away. The Freedom Fighters sounded like a murder of crows ganging up on an eagle.

Having an idea, Ashpaw dragged his walrus-tooth knife from his blue bag and rammed it all the way into the trunk. But he didn't ram it in too deep or it would get stuck like porcupine quills in a cat's fur. He lowered his ear to the knife and listened carefully for any noises in the forest.

"Ashpaw, what the hell are you...?"

"Don't worry, Flash," Ashpaw reassured the brown-&-ginger rogue, pushing the knife in a little deeper. "This'll increase any sound waves coming from a distance."

Flash nodded to him with interest as he replied, "Cool trick, Ashpaw! I couldn't think that up better than you!"

Ashpaw felt pride swell up in his chest despite not liking the rogue too much. Maybe this cat wouldn't be too bad to hang around with, Ashpaw seemed to be thinking. As long as he didn't flirt with his sister, Flash was okay. So Ashpaw lowered his ear to the knife again and listened. It paid off well when he felt some vibrations reach his ear drums; there seemed to be a cat nearby.

"I think I got something, Flash," he mewed to the Freedom Fighter leader. He lowered his voice so Flash could hear him mutter, "Yep, there's must be a cat or two nearby!"

"How many cats are there?"

"Just one."

Flash nodded at him before cawing to his friends and they replied with the same crow voices. He nodded at Ashpaw, telling him to ready his weapon, and Ashpaw unsheathed his claws, ready to strike. But his eyes widened with wonder as he saw who had come across the forest path.

An elderly ginger-&-gray tom was hobbling forward, holding a cane in his jaws. He also had a red cloak around his neck.

_He's an old cat! He's probably going for a walk, _Ashpaw thought. Out loud, he called to Flash, "It's a false alarm! He's just an elder."

But all of a sudden, Flash leaped down from the tree branch and flew down in front of the old cat, blocking his path. The elder tried moving one way, but Flash leaped in his way as well. To Ashpaw's horror, Flash leered at the helpless cat as he unsheathed his claws and bared his teeth at him.

He was snarling, "Where do you think you're going, you old ass? You're in our territory!"

"Sir, please! I'm just a traveler!" the old cat begged pleadingly.

Flash took a pawstep forward and, with one swipe of his hook-sword in his jaws, sent the elder's cane flying from his mouth. The old cat cowered and tried to slink away, but when he tried to flee, he ran face first into Tiny's chest. The force of the collision knocked him to the ground; the giant tomcat loomed over him in a leering way. The ginger-&-gray tom tried his best to crawl away, but Tiny's large foot on his rear successfully pinned him down.

Ashpaw couldn't believe this; he remembered tales of a ThunderClan warrior named Thistleclaw making his apprentice, Tigerpaw, beat up a lost kittypet in the woods. They were finally stopped, but their evil spread out through the Clans...even into FireClan. Flash was doing the same thing now: beating up a cat who couldn't stand up for itself.

"So you like destroying towns and families?" Flash was snarling into the elder's face so that he was sprayed with spit. "Well, DO YOU?" He gave him a cuff on the ear with claws unsheathed, raking them across the elder's ear.

Ashpaw realized that his brief trust in Flash was gone; he was right all along. The Freedom Fighter leader could not be trusted.

"Please...let me go!" sobbed the old tom. "Have mercy..."

However, he was interrupted when Flash slashed his claws across his face, blood spraying onto nearby ferns. "But does FireClan let cats go or have mercy?" he snarled.

He raised his head in the air and prepared for a bite on the throat, ready to slaughter him. Seeing that this was far enough, Ashpaw furiously launched himself off the branch and collided with Flash. He knocked him away with a quick kick before the killing bite was fully completed.

As he pinned Flash down, Ashpaw let him up as the rogue barked at the dark gray apprentice, "What the hell do you think you're doing, Ashpaw?"

"He's just an elder!" Ashpaw retorted.

"But he's a FireClan cat! Search him now, comrades!" Flash barked at his supporters. At this, Tiny forced the hostage deeper to the ground while Hornet prowled forward to him.

Ashpaw yowled, "But he's just vulnerable! He won't harm anyone!"

However, Flash stood in the way and spat at the WaterClan cat with anger in his mew, "Don't you remember when FireClan killed your mother? Do you? Remember what you're fighting for!"

"We got his stuff, Comrade Flash," Hornet meowed, making Flash and Ashpaw stop glaring at one another as they looked at the other cats. She was carrying the old cat's cane in her jaws and a red bag that he was carrying. Ashpaw couldn't believe they were mugging the old one and being a bit discriminating to him.

"This isn't right," Ashpaw murmured.

Flash looked around at him in frustration. "What needs to be done will be done, Ashpaw. And don't you forget it. Now let's move out, comrades." At that, Flash shoved past Ashpaw and padded away while Tiny and Hornet followed him like sharks following fish.

Ashpaw looked around at the old cat still crouching low to the ground with fear shimmering in his gray eyes. He didn't want to believe this old cat was doing harm to them, and he felt that he would have to do something to stop them. But after a call from Flash, Ashpaw gave the elder a nod before racing off.

**...**

Back at the hideout, Goldpaw and Tobias were gliding around in the trees when Ashpaw was looking for him. When the dark gray tabby tom approached him, Goldpaw flew back down and mewed to him, "Ashpaw, look what The Dude gave me! Cool, huh?"

He was holding a red bag in his jaws, and pulled a small capsule from it; Ashpaw was thankful that wasn't the old cat's bag. With a crafty grin on his face, Goldpaw tossed it at the raised area next to Tobias, where it burst with a crack. Tobias fluffed his feathers up like an angry chicken, squawked crossly, and lunged for the bag in his talons. The red-tailed hawk perched himself on Goldpaw's shoulder and tossed capsules at his paws.

Goldpaw pranced around on the spot wildly, yowling, "Ow! Stop it, Tobias! Sorry!"

Ashpaw made himself ignorant to it all. He hoped Silverpaw would believe him when she heard his side of the story. While he was sat with his back to the tree, Silverpaw came back with some kind of straw thing in her jaws. Her trust in Flash made him frown even more than before.

As Silverpaw padded to them, she asked him, "Is Flash back yet?"

"Oh, he's back all right, but we're leaving!" Ashpaw snapped, starting to pace around.

"Huh?" Goldpaw whined.

"Aw, come on! I made him this nifty hat!" Silverpaw begged her littermate, holding up the thing in her jaws. It was a cap made out of sewed leaves with a blossom on the top. The workmanship was very mediocre in his eyes, but that wasn't the point.

He growled to her, "Sorry to break it to you, but your so-called mate...is a thug!"

Silverpaw's blue eyes widened with disbelief as she snorted, "What? No he isn't!"

"Yes he is!" Ashpaw snarled, stopping his pace and facing her. "He's crazier that a fox in a fit!"

"Come on, he's not really messed up." Ashpaw and Silverpaw stopped glaring at one another as Goldpaw padded in between them and sat down. "He's just living a different life...a fun one, I oughta add!"

Ashpaw shook his head furiously, stepped away, and retorted, "But he beat up, stole from, and almost murdered, an elder! And the Warrior Code says we have to respect our elders! What do you say to that, eh?"

"I want to hear Flash's story!" Silverpaw spat angrily, giving Ashpaw a cross glare from her dark blue eyes.

**...**

"So let me get this straight. You didn't bother telling them the old one was from FireClan?"

Flash and the three Clan apprentices were in a lantern-lit cabin: at least one wall was made of wood. Flash was sitting on a hammock while the others stood still. Ashpaw stood sullenly as far away as he could get as Goldpaw wore the hat that Silverpaw made for Flash.

_H__e looks like an acorn, _Ashpaw spat to himself.

Silverpaw glared at her brother and replied, "No, he seemed to leave that part out."

"Okay, okay! He WAS a FireClan cat, but he was a harmless old elder!"

Flash waved his tail trivially at Ashpaw. "But he was a killer!"

He pulled out a knife from underneath his nest and shoved it into a close by slab of wood. It was a threatening-looking curved blade, and four spines were squarely spaced along the grip with enough space for claws to go between them. There was also a ring on the butt of the knife; that was something Ashpaw hadn't seen before.

"You see? There's a space for holding some venom," Flash announced, pulling on the ring and removing a little glass tube filled with a red fluid. "He was going to kill me, but you saved my life, Comrade Ashpaw. Thank you."

"I knew it!" Silverpaw exclaimed.

"But I didn't see any knife!" Ashpaw protested, feeling that this wasn't what he expected.

The Freedom Fighter leader retorted, "That was because he was hiding it!"

Silverpaw turned to her brother with a pompous glare. "There you go, Ashpaw. I'm sure you just didn't notice that knife."

Ashpaw spat very ferociously, "There wasn't a knife when I was with him! You know what? Screw this place! I'm packing right now!"

At this, he left Flash's hut and stalked away in a bad mood. How dare Flash hurt the cat and then lied about it! The nerve of it all!

But as he left, he didn't hear Flash meow, "Please don't leave yet, you two. I need your help."

"What can we do?" Goldpaw asked the striped rogue.

"FireClan is planning on burning down our forest," Flash explained to him and Silverpaw. "If you use WaterBending to fill the reservoir, we could finally battle those fires. But if you leave now, they'll destroy the entire valley."

**...**

Ashpaw put the last item that he needed in his bag, determined to get his tail out of here as fast as he could. Shadows in the doorway told him Goldpaw and Silverpaw returned with resolute looks on their faces.

"Ashpaw, we can't leave just yet!" Silverpaw began meowing. "FireClan's gonna burn down the whole forest and we have to assist Flash and his comrades!"

He turned to his silver-pelted sister, sighed, and mewed as calmly as he could, "Silverpaw, I'm very sorry about this, but we can't trust Flash at all even though he's a smooth cat."

Then Silverpaw said something that made Ashpaw twitch: she meowed with all the coldness of leaf-bare in her voice, "You know what, Ashpaw? You're just jealous because Flash's a better leader and warrior than you!"

Those words made him feel shocked as if she slapped him across the muzzle with her paws. But he didn't want to know that he was hurt when she said this. So he sighed again and retorted, "I'm not jealous of him, Silverpaw. It's because my instincts-"

"And another thing, Ashpaw," Silverpaw went on, the coldness still in her voice as if he didn't speak, "_my _instincts tell me to stay here and assist Flash. You won't be a good warrior or leader with that awful attitude of yours! Come on Goldpaw!" she demanded, stalking out of the cabin and leaving Ashpaw looking upset.

"Sorry, Ashpaw," Goldpaw added before following her out of the cabin.

Ashpaw looked down at the ground and he felt like burying himself in sand until he couldn't see. He wanted to give up and go to the Northern WaterClan by himself, but his father wouldn't want him to do that; he also wouldn't approve of what Silverpaw told him.

But he decided to go along with a simple plan...

**...**

A full moon shone on Archie, who was on his back and snoring as he slept in the treetops. Inside the Trio's hut, Ashpaw slept propped up against his still-packed equipment while the others slept in balls of fur. Ashpaw wasn't going to sleep near them because of the harsh words Silverpaw told him. He was determined to show her that she was wrong.

"Let's go, comrades."

Flash's voice made Ashpaw fully awaken. He pulled the door flap aside enough to see some of Flash and his cohorts sinking down to the ground on the pulling platforms. He left the hut as silently as he could and took a platform down to a low branch. On the ground below him, Flash's Freedom Fighters were silently like snakes pushing the loaded wagon as they padded out of the camp.

Ashpaw stealthily followed them, thinking, _Here we go._

In the dark valley, the walled town Flash described sat on the far side of a river cutting through the forest. Upstream, and up toward the wall of the valley, there was an old waterfall and further than that was a cat-made dam. An exposed cliff off to the reservoir's left presented the great view.

Flash and his cats emerged from inside the dark forest. The leader padded to the edge and looked down on the dam below and looked around. The reservoir behind it was low with water; he turned back to the wagon to address his cats. After that, Flash began mewing something quietly, but from where he was at, Ashpaw could hear him talking.

Flash was meowing, "Do not blow up the dam until I signal you. If the reservoir below isn't full, FireClan will survive."

The Dude hopped off of the wagon, padded to his leader, and mewled, "But what about the other cats? What if they get wiped out too?"

"Then that's just the price for destroying FireClan," Flash replied, towering over the kit and ruffling his head with his paw. To Spearhead, he told him, "Do not blow it up until I tell you, okay?"

The pale tabby archer nodded and stalked off. While looking on with astonishment, Ashpaw couldn't believe this; they weren't going to liberate the town. They were going to blow it up with all the innocent cats in there! He couldn't let them do this.

But while he crouched in the thorny bramble bushes, he heard some rustling nearby and he let out a yelp of surprise when he felt some large teeth grab him by the tail and drag him out of his hidey-hole. He looked up with horror as Tiny pinned his smaller body to the ground and Hornet unsheathed her claws and planted them onto Ashpaw's throat.

"Where the hell do you think you're going, Doomedpaw?" the tortoiseshell cat hissed.

Ashpaw didn't speak; he was too horrified about this revelation. _How will I get myself out?_

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Ashpaw struggled like mad as Tiny picked him up by the scruff and tossed him out of the bushes with force. Hornet took the chance to pin his hind legs down, and Tiny pinned the dark gray tom to the ground by the throat with his giant paw. The WaterClan cat tried kicking them away, but Hornet slashed him across the face to make him stop.

"Well, Ashpaw, I'm happy you decided to join us," Flash purred, turning about to face them.

Then he nodded his head to his comrades and they let Ashpaw go. Ashpaw coughed after the pressure squeezing on his throat before panting, "I heard you planning to...destroy that EarthClan village..."

Flash tilted his head to one side as if he was confused. "We're just trying to purge this forest of FireClan. That's what our plan is."

"Flash, you shrew-brain, there's cats living in that village over there!" Ashpaw spat, recovering from his coughing and shoving his muzzle right in front of the rogue's face. "There are warriors, queens, and kits living there and you'll kill them all with that plan of yours!"

"We can't win without making some sacrifices," Flash just meowed.

Ashpaw looked down to the ground for a few seconds while realizing something. "So you lied to Goldpaw and Silverpaw about that forest fire!" he spat, lunging at Flash, but the rogue stepped to one side and made him slip in the mud.

Flash snorted and turned around. **"**They don't appreciate the demands of warfare. Not like you and I do, Comrade Ashpaw. Surely, you must know that?"

"Of course I know. I know there's nothing you won't do to get what you want," Ashpaw snarled, then adding, "And I want you to stop calling me Comrade Ashpaw!"

Flash glared at the WaterClan apprentice, fire blazing in his amber eyes. But when he meowed, his voice was calm: "Oh, well. I was kinda hoping you'd have an open mind. But you've made your choice...and I made mine."

One flick of his tail and both Tiny and Hornet pounced on top of Ashpaw. Before Ashpaw could fight back, Flash unsheathed the claws on one paw and sliced them across the apprentice's face. He felt blood spray from his face again as he felt the claws slice against the bridge of his nose.

As the two toms glared at one another while Ashpaw's face was coated with blood, Flash hissed silently, "I won't let you warn them about this." He gave Ashpaw's face another slash before meowing to his followers, "Comrades, take Ashpaw for a walk...a very long walk," he added ominously.

"You can't do this, Flash! You can't!" Ashpaw screeched.

"But this day will be a victory, Ashpaw," Flash retorted. "Cheer up, for this day will be a victory against FireClan!"

Ashpaw couldn't believe that Flash was really not going to stop with his mastermind plan. He wanted to warn Silverpaw, but after those very cruel words she spat at him, he would let her figure it out. However, he couldn't let them not know what Flash's evil plan was about.

As Tiny and Hornet dragged him away, Ashpaw yowled, "Damn you! Damn you to Hell!"

**...**

The collected water behind the riverside upriver from the dam was much less than the larger hollow space of the reservoir. The river leading to the reservoir was a strand compared to its rainy season's channel. Flash, Silverpaw, and Goldpaw were padding upriver along its west bank.

As Goldpaw pounced around at a falling leaf, he stopped to hear Silverpaw meow to Flash, "Flash, sorry about Ashpaw's nasty behavior."

Goldpaw flicked his ear at her, kind of not believing her. Despite hanging around with Silverpaw after the argument, the golden Avatar Cat felt really uncomfortable about Silverpaw's mean words. He could recall them too well: "You won't be a good warrior or leader with that awful attitude of yours!"

"Aren't you gonna apologize?" he had asked her the night before at dinner.

"Why? A good leader should trust any cat they meet. He'll never be a leader like that!" she had spat. And that caused him to take back the piece of fresh-kill he had given her seconds before.

Flash rolled his eyes glibly and replied, "Ah, Hakuna Matata. He apologized to me earlier this morning."

"HUH?" Both Goldpaw and Silverpaw turned around to look at one another as they halted in their pawsteps; Ashpaw was usually one to not apologize to a stranger that easily. Goldpaw then piped up, "Ashpaw apologized? He's never done that!"

"Yep. I was also surprised. Did you talk to him or something that changed him?" Flash asked her, licking his paw and swiping it over his ear.

Silverpaw meowed, "I talked to him."

_Yeah, and that was very mean of you to say that. _Goldpaw itched to say the retort loudly, but he held his tongue.

Flash began licking the fur on his chest while he continued, "So you DID say something to make him change. However, he decided to go out on a scouting mission with Tiny and Hornet."

"Well, I'm glad he calmed the hell down," Silverpaw meowed, a bit of scorn for her brother evident in her voice. "He's such a stubborn cat."

Goldpaw groaned privately, _Silverpaw, PLEASE stop being harsh to Ashpaw! He said sorry already!_

Once again, he kept his mouth shut because he didn't want to start an argument. Although this was just like the time when Silverpaw was screeching at him and Ashpaw stood up for him. He was grateful to Ashpaw for that, but he didn't want to be Silverpaw's enemy.

_Why couldn't I help him either?_

But as they padded in the gully beside the river, Goldpaw stopped after noticing and sniffing something strange. Then, suddenly, he was launched into the sky by a blast from the geyser he was standing on.

"Okay, you two, we're here," the brown-&-ginger striped tom announced. "The underground water's trying to break out all the way through these vents. I need your help to help it along."

"I don't know how to Bend water I can't really see," Silverpaw began to mew with doubt in her voice. "I'm not sure..."

**[Holly: (Sighs) Here comes another one.]**

**[AvatarCat09: It'll be all over soon.]**

Flash padded to Silverpaw and rubbed her cheek with his nose while he purred, "I know you can do this, Silverpaw."

"Hey, what about me?" Goldpaw budged in on the conversation. He was moderately irritated at what Flash was doing with Silverpaw because she was like a sister to him and he almost wanted to make him not forget what they needed to do. But he got rid of the thought.

"Of course, I know the Avatar Cat can also do this," Flash added, stepping away from Silverpaw. But that didn't completely convince Goldpaw.

When they got ready, Goldpaw and Silverpaw sat on either side of one of the many smoking holes in the gully. While Flash looked on with interest, they performed Bending motions; they looked as if they were encouraging a snake to come out with their paws waving over the hole. After a few minutes, a blobby stream of water appeared from the hole. They pulled it to their height and then sent it toward the river where it continued to flow like a giant waterfall as the water quickly joined the river.

"Yes! Good job, comrades!" Flash praised them, his amber eyes full of pride. "This river empties into the reservoir. Just do a few more geysers and it'll be full to the brim!"

"There's another one!" Goldpaw yowled as he went to another hole in the ground, Silverpaw and Flash following him.

But Flash stopped trailing them and he stood where he was. "Okay, you two. Keep up the good work. I'll just go check on the stuff at the reservoir." He turned around and started to pad away rather quickly.

"We'll meet up with you there when we're done," Silverpaw told him.

For an abnormal reason, Flash gazed at her with a bizarre gaze as he looked away from her and looked out at the wooded area. There was something that was underneath that gaze, but Goldpaw didn't know what that was.

"Uh...actually, meet up with me back at the hiding place," he replied.

At this he finally padded away from them and vanished into the woods' shadows. Goldpaw and Silverpaw went back to Bending the next geyser into another spout. In a few minutes, there were already twelve other fountains flowing into the river and they felt rather proud of their work.

"Okay, I think that's enough for now," Goldpaw panted. As Silverpaw glanced at him with disbelief, Goldpaw mewed defensively, "What? I'm not slacking off!"

This was true; despite the tension building up inside of him earlier, he felt a little proud of what Flash would say about their hard work.

Silverpaw nodded in an understanding gesture. "So let's meet up with Flash at the reservoir."

She got up and began to pad where Flash was going. Goldpaw blocked the way, asking her, "But didn't he tell us to meet him at the hideout?"

"We finished early; remember that," Silverpaw retorted, her tail twitching with excitement. "I bet he'll be excited to see the two of us!"

**...**

Ashpaw felt the last of his strength leave him as he finished struggling in the net he was being dragged in. He expected the two rogues to make him go up to his paws, but he just laid there on the netting as he was dragged away from the hideout. "Move along there," Hornet was hissing as she nudged him forward.

"Guys, why the hell would you back off while Flash kills all those cats?" Ashpaw tried to beg the two Freedom Fighters.

"Yo, Ashpaw, listen to this," Tiny snarled, not looking like the giant jolly cat he saw for the past two days. "Flash is the coolest leader and the coolest cat on the planet. We do whatever he says and things always turn out okay for both sides, you know?"

Ashpaw was crouching low to the ground when he suddenly noticed a couple of snare leaf-piles nearby. They were both identical to the one that tempted and trapped Tobias from two days ago, right down to the pile of roasted canaries covered in leaves. At last, he got an idea. An awesome idea. He had a wonderfully awesome idea!

"Well, if Flash leads you like that, then that bastard has a lot to learn," Ashpaw retorted.

Then, feeling all of his strength return to his legs, he unsheathed his claws and sliced the net open, climbing out of the net and racing off into the woods. He heard pawsteps from behind him and he could tell that Tiny and Hornet were chasing him. _Good. Wait for it..._

Ashpaw approached one pile of leaves and leaped over them, although Hornet and Tiny didn't notice at all. In an instant, they ended up being ensnared and dangling many fox-lengths off the ground. They had stepped on the leaves and ended up being caught in the trap.

Ashpaw let out a purr of laughter, "Oh, and one more thing: you two should really learn to make tighter nets. Even a weasel could get out!" Laughing again and stopping at recalling what to do, Ashpaw ran off into the woods.

While running away, Ashpaw hear Tiny's booming voice mew, "Hornet, can I eat those canaries of yours?" He heard a thud on the head, a slurping sound as if it was a tongue swiping over lips, and hearty munching.

**...**

Silverpaw and Goldpaw were standing on the border of the cliff where the reservoir was near. At the base of the dam, four of Flash's Freedom Fighters were unloading barrels from a wagon and arranging them. Goldpaw was confused; what were those cats doing at the dam?

"Hey, what're they doing?" Silverpaw asked.

Goldpaw rose onto his hind legs and peered closely at the scene. He saw some of the red barrels Flash got from the FireClan camp from two days earlier. "Aren't those the red barrels Flash got from two sunrises earlier?"

Silverpaw sniffed the air and went on, "And why in StarClan's name would they even need exploding jelly?"

Now Goldpaw suddenly understood the whole situation. The raiding of FireClan camps, the stolen supplies, the way Flash was trying to butter them up, Ashpaw going missing on a secret mission, and those supplies being placed so dangerously near the reservoir. He mewed with his voice filled with horror:

"Flash is planning to destroy the dam!"

"What?" Silverpaw snorted with a shocked yet very uneasy look on her face. "That'll just destroy the town. Flash would never do such a thing! Ashpaw's words are just tricking you!"

"You're so blind, Silverpaw! _Blind!" _Goldpaw spat at her angrily. Now was the time to stick up for his friend. Ashpaw was just looking out for his friends like the older brother to Silverpaw that he really was.

He growled at her some more, "Ever since we came to Flash's hideout, you've always made fun of Ashpaw and hurt his feelings! And what you told him last night wasn't nice at all. That awful behavior of yours needs to stop!" Turning back to the reservoir, he added, "As for Flash, I have to stop him."

Silverpaw meowed again with an even less convinced voice, "I'm telling you again, Goldpaw! Flash wouldn't do such a thing!"

Ignoring her, he opened up his glider staff so that the yellow wings spread out like an eagle's wings and started to dash for the edge of the cliff. But before the Avatar Cat could reach the edge, Flash suddenly crossed his path from behind and snatched the glider with the speed of a peregrine falcon. Goldpaw was left shaking dangerously on the edge, but he used an AirBending move to get himself back on steady footing.

"Of course I'd do such a thing, Silverpaw," the brown-&-ginger striped tomcat spat.

"Why, Flash?" Silverpaw moaned with horror and a hurt tone in her voice. "Why?"

Flash turned to face her as he mewed with a gentler voice, "Listen to me, Silverpaw: if you think about this, you'd do the same thing. Just think of what that damn FireClan did to your Clan and your mother! We're not gonna let those evil bastards do this ever again. I promise."

Silverpaw shook her head with pure shock as she wailed, "But this isn't the right answer! This isn't in the Warrior Code!"

"Silverpaw, I need you to understand me, please." Flash padded forward toward her while Goldpaw just stood there, trying to recover from the impact of the Freedom Fighter leader slamming into him. This was just like when Tigerstar lured dogs to the ThunderClan camp to destroy his former home. "I was hoping your brother would understand my plan, but I disposed of him in the end."

"Flash, what did you do to my brother?" Silverpaw sobbed. Tears were dripping from her dark blue eyes and she lowered her head toward the ground as her body shook with sorrowful sobs.

In reply, Flash reached forward to press his nose to hers, but all of a sudden, Silverpaw let out a ferocious and aggressive screech as she unsheathed her front claws and sliced them across Flash's face. Then Flash leaped at her quickly, his face dripping with blood, but Goldpaw dashed forward, grabbed the rogue by the scruff with his fangs, and tossed him away.

"I'm gonna get to the dam and stop this!" Goldpaw panted to her as he turned to get his staff, which was still on the ground.

As he reached his front paw forwards to it, the crescent end of one of Flash's hook swords pinned it like an axe. Flash had the two weapons hook to hook and with a yank, he pulled the dagger and Goldpaw's glider to him.

"I don't think so, little mouse-brain. You're not getting your tail over there without your staff."

The Freedom Fighter leader swung the swords, still hook to hook, at Goldpaw. The Avatar Cat leaped back to avoid the extra reach, and he finished his retreat on a nearby tree branch.

"Flash, I will NOT fight you!"

"You have to if you want your toy back!"

With a hiss of disappointment, Goldpaw retreated further into the forest as Flash hooked the branch and pulled himself up. Silverpaw followed the two fighting toms on the ground, her face filled with sorrow and anger. Flash attacked by pouncing at Goldpaw; the AirClan apprentice defended himself with balls of air mixed with slashes, which Flash avoided by ducking. Flash charged at him head on, but Goldpaw blocked it with a hefty kick and sent his opponent flying into a tree trunk with an amazing air kick. Flash brought out his swords again and leaped at him again while Goldpaw steered clear of the flail-like move and sent another air blast. The striped cat stooped down and let the air flow over his fur and past him before he lunged hard.

They continued the chase through the many levels of the forest. Flash caught up to Goldpaw and landed hard on his back, and the two cats were sent plunging down, attacking as they went. They both ended up on an oak branch as Flash resumed his attack, but Goldpaw avoided it all. Flash charged again, but Goldpaw banged him hard with a jet stream of air. Flash fell from the branch and recovered in midair, but he lost the glider in the procedure. Before Goldpaw could get to the ground, the striped tom clawed him across his body with his claws and kicked him into a trunk. The golden tom fell with a thud, bleeding, next to his glider.

A small stream flowed past him, but Goldpaw was too slow to get up onto his paws. Before Flash could land a final blow, however, he was unexpectedly hit by a large water strike.

Silverpaw was finally there, her blue eyes shining with anger and betrayal; she used water from the built river to knock Flash against the oak tree. Over and over, she attacked while slashing at his ears and face; Flash was incapable of cutting the water and its force plastered him against the trunk. She Bended the water to ice by inhaling and letting out an icy breath; the drenched rebel was left ice-covered from paw to throat.

Silverpaw snarled angrily, "Flash, why the hell would you do this? I trusted you and this is how you used my trust...by abusing it! You've lied to me! You're a sick and horrible cat and I trusted you! How could you do this to us? To me?"

As Goldpaw fought to get up to his paws, strange sounds like the cawing of a crow echoed in the forest. Both Silverpaw and Goldpaw were startled indeed, and they turned around to see where it was coming from. Then they heard a closer caw and they realized that it was Flash making the answering call.

"What're you doing?" Silverpaw asked the rogue, her face lined with a tense stare.

"It's too late!" Flash snapped. "The task is already being done with the help of my comrades!"

Silverpaw squeaked, "NO!"

Goldpaw couldn't stand to see his friend so upset, so he snapped open his glider and ran for the nearby cliff and waterfall. His glider's wing was so torn and he was so injured, however, that he had no lift and fell back to the ground near the edge of the cliff. His blood was trickling to the dust. Silverpaw dashed over to his side and tried to heave him to his paws.

Goldpaw faced her and rasped to her, "Silverpaw, Ashpaw's the only chance we have. He's still out there. I can feel it."

"Please, StarClan," Silverpaw pleaded her warrior ancestors as she looked over the valley, "Ashpaw needs to be okay. I'm sorry for ever doubting him. Please."

They could see the pale tabby form of Spearhead standing on an oak branch, his bow pulled. He had a fire arrow on the string in his jaws, sighted it, and then let it fly. It arced down to the base of the dam with Silverpaw staring on in horror.

"_No..._"

The center of the dam exploded in a cloud of smoke and fire. Both apprentices could only watch in horror as they watched a massive wall of water go over the dry' falls and down to the town. Inside the town, the streets were completely empty except for the occasional barrel and a market table with lettuces. The water rushed through the open gate, as a cresting wave dwarfed it down to size.

The wall and gate were tragically swallowed as the wave struck the town with the force of an elephant. The wreckage carried away included a cheery doll. It seemed that all the cats in the town had drowned in the flood.

"Ashpaw didn't make it this time. I can't believe it," Goldpaw croaked with sorrow, his ears flattening to his head. He would always remember the intelligent dark gray tabby tom and his heroic act in trying to save the town.

_StarClan, why?_

Silverpaw shook her head as tears poured from her eyes to the ground. "And all those cats... Flash, you monstrous bastard!" she shrieked as she whirled around to snarl at Flash. Goldpaw padded slowly to her side and bared his teeth at Flash.

"Silverpaw, this is a victory for my comrades and I," Flash retorted proudly, making Goldpaw feel sick. "From now on, FireClan will never invade our forest ever again. The town will be safe from their dirty paws!"

"The forest and the town WILL be safe...without your help."

Goldpaw's ears suddenly pricked themselves back upward. He knew where that voice came from and he couldn't believe it, yet he was so overjoyed.

In shock, Flash turned his head to see Ashpaw approaching the three other cats with Tobias on his shoulders and pulling Archie's reins. As Silverpaw dashed forward and licked her brother all over, the dark gray tabby tom went on, "I escaped your friends and warned the town in time."

"WHAT?" Flash roared in rage.

"You know..." Ashpaw went on, not listening to the striped rogue's protest, "...those cats didn't believe a bite of what I was saying at first and the warriors there said I was just a spy and a killer. But one cat stood up for me and defended me; yes, Flash, that was the elder you cruelly beat up. He urged every cat in the town to trust in me, and the two of us got everyone out just before the water flooded the place."

Silverpaw and Goldpaw turned back to see that, on a hill far away from the town, there was a huge crowd of cats. As they all gathered there, a small gray kitten sprang forward to the water's edge and grabbed the floating doll in her jaws, cooing gently.

Then Flash snarled angrily at Ashpaw, "Ashpaw, you stupid bastard! FireClan could've been wiped out from the forest and every comrade would be free!"

Ashpaw bared his teeth at him, but he didn't move forward to attack. Instead, he snorted, "Well, which cats would be free, then? Every living creature in the forest would've been killed in that flood of yours."

"You damn traitor!" Flash roared furiously.

"No, Flash," Ashpaw rasped, turning away and padding away from him while the latter was frozen to the tree trunk. "You were the one who became the traitor the day you stopped saving innocent cats." He and Goldpaw leaped onto Archie, with Goldpaw scrambling on when he landed right onto the saddle.

Flash gazed on with shock before rasping to Silverpaw, "Help me, Silverpaw..."

However, Silverpaw glared at Flash with all the coldness of leaf-bare in her eyes. "You made me think of my brother as an idiot and you made me so furious at him when he was helping. Good-bye, Flash." She leaped onto Archie alongside her friends. "I curse the day I met you."

Then Ashpaw gaze the command for Archie to fly and the Asian Lung Dragon flew off, leaving Flash still frozen to the tree trunk and bleeding. He wasn't seen after that.

**...**

Ashpaw gazed around the trees as he tried to forget about Flash. He knew Emberstar would be proud of him for using his brains to save everyone from the disastrous flood. But he almost felt sorry for Flash. Well, not really.

"Ashpaw, I'm so sorry for not believing you and saying those cruel words," Silverpaw meowed, padding to him and sitting down beside him. "You're going to be a great leader of WaterClan someday."

Ashpaw responded by licking his sister on the ear and purring, "Apology accepted, Silverpaw."

"By the way..." Goldpaw piped up, joining in the chat, "...why'd you go straight for that town? We thought you'd go to the dam!"

Silverpaw teased him, her voice NOT filled with contempt but with teasing, "So let me think: did your instincts tell you?"

"Yep. But I know my instincts are sometimes always right," Ashpaw responded, giving his sister another lick on the other ear. _But they are, aren't they?_

Then... "Uh, Ashpaw?" Goldpaw mewed. "You're going the wrong way."

Ashpaw turned around to see where they were going, mewed "Oh. And they could sometimes be wrong," and pulled on Archie's reins with a big goofy grin on his face. As they flew off into the sunrise, the three cats gave each other a loving purr.

_To be continued..._

**...**

**AvatarCat11: Sorry for not updating right away, but I just got a little side-tracked. And I might be doing an Avatar Mystery Dungeon remake.**

**Holly: Good luck with the remake!**

**AvatarCat11: Thanks, Holly! And I felt too upset on Sunday because of my sister's fiancé.**

**Holly: What'd he do this time?**

**AvatarCat11: My sister almost fell because I forgot to clean up a mess. He yelled at me for not cleaning it up and guilt-tripped me, saying that HE does all the cleaning in the house. Not true! I also help out around the house!**

**Holly: he didn't have to yell at you like that; that's just wrong. And I think I better say the review thing. (To the readers) Anyone who reviews this chapter will straight away get virtual sugar frosted cookies with the red or green icing. Remember what we say about flames and constructive criticism. And here's the preview for The Great Canyon.**

**Preview: Goldpaw and his pack travel with two packs of warring cats through a dangerous canyon. While they quarrel, Goldpaw has to also deal with other carnivores, the heat of the sun, and fights in his own pack.**

**AvatarCat11 and Holly: See ya next time! And Merry early Christmas!**


	13. The Great Canyon

**AvatarCat11: As you can see, Katara and Holly still aren't back from their vacation yet. But I don't mind; they'll be back sometime after 2012 starts. However, for some time, a few people will volunteer to help with the commentaries.**

**Kyuubi: Did you hear? The Promise part 1 will be coming out in February!**

**AvatarCat11: (Smiles at her) I know. And I already got it pre-ordered. Besides, I also got The Lost Adventures yesterday.**

**Kyuubi: Congrats there! You must've been waiting for a long time!**

**AvatarCat11: Yep. I sure have. So would you like to say the disclaimer?**

**Kyuubi: Sure!**

**Disclaimer: The day AvatarCat11 owns Avatar: The Last AirBender and Warrior Cats is the day he becomes president. And that's never.**

**Summary: Goldpaw and his friends travel with two tribes of contending cats through a dangerous canyon. While they quarrel, Goldpaw has to also deal with other carnivores, the heat of the sun, and fights in his own pack.**

**Updating Date: December 30, 2011**

**AvatarCat11 and Kyuubi: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Great Canyon_

The sun was setting behind some high rock ledges. The sky was mostly cloudy and the clouds reflected the light of the dying sun. There was also a patched up tent being bumped about from the inside. A rolled up canvas lay next to the tent.

Ashpaw was rummaging around inside the tent, grunting and fussing about as he tried to finish setting up the little tent. He and the pack had stopped for the night, for they were going to cross some canyon in the morning.

Finally, the tent was raised and Ashpaw padded out, feeling and looking rather proud of himself. As he finished ruffling his pelt, Silverpaw came padding back while dragging a toboggan full of wood and twigs. A rope was tied lightly around her neck to avoid any choking.

"Hey, Ashpaw, didn't you forget something? The canvas?" she added as her brother gave her a confused look.

Ashpaw nodded, mewed, "Got it," picked up the rolled up canvas, and threw it through the open flap and into the tent. He clapped his paws together as if trying to get rid of any dirt that was on there.

Silverpaw growled crossly, "Uh, Ashpaw? You have to put that on TOP of the tent so that we don't get rained on!"

"Sometimes, you'd be right," Ashpaw retorted, gesturing to the tent with his paws and tail. "But you're wrong this time. The cold dry season has come. And the canvas will make a great blanket! Plus, we're WaterClan cats; we can deal with water!"

"Well, what if it DOES rain?" Silverpaw meowed with annoyance.

Ashpaw waved her away hastily with his tail as he retorted with the same tone, "But what if it DOESN'T rain? Then the canvas would've been put up for nothing!"

Silverpaw glared at him with astonishment and Ashpaw must have thought she would go along with it, but he was wrong. She stomped her front paw onto the ground and hissed, "_MMrrooww!_ You're so exasperating!"

"Uh, Silverpaw," Ashpaw went on, not paying attention to her rambling, "if I were you, I'd worry about not me but about that firewood. It's looking somewhat sorry."

The silver apprentice just glared at her brother with a glowering look on her face, and then she exploded with rage. "Well FINE!" she spat. "If you don't like the firewood, keep the damn wood!"

At this, she took a branch from her sled and threw it at Ashpaw, hitting him on the ear. The dark gray tabby tom lowered himself to the ground to shield himself from a few more twigs thrown at him by his littermate. Quickly, he stood up after the storm of wood was over.

"Okay then! If you won't do your job..." he meowed, yanking the rope securing the tent to one of its supports and the tent fell down in a heap, "...then neither will I!"

Both cats glared at one another through hostile blue eyes as cold as ice (one pair of dark blue and one pair of pale blue) and they sprung at each other, extracting their claws and biting each other's throats and bellies. They also began scratching at each other with their unsheathed claws.

"Stop it, you two!" Goldpaw's muffled voice commanded penetratingly, making the two cats spring away from each other; Ashpaw's ear was dripping with blood while Silverpaw had a long scratch on her cheek. He approached them, put down his turkey, and mewed, "What's going on? I got the fresh-kill, so why didn't you set up the tent and the campfire? And why're you fighting?"

At first, they didn't tell him as they turned away from each other rapidly, their tails bristling and twitching and expressions of sullen anger on their faces. Then Ashpaw replied angrily, "How about you ask Know-It-Allpaw, Queen of Firewood?"

Silverpaw ended up whipping around to yell at her brother. "Oh yeah?" she hissed, pointing an angry tail at him. "Well you're Mister Lazystar, leader of..." She bent down quickly, picked up a branch in her jaws, and threw it at her brother as it hit him on the back of his head, "...TentClan!"

Goldpaw just held his tail in appeasement in front of Ashpaw, who was stalking angrily towards his littermate, as he mewed, "I get it now, guys. But listen to what Goldenstripe used to tell me whenever I get angry: action, not harsh words, will solve a problem. Just do each other's job so you won't complain, okay?"

Both gray cats stared at him with confusion before agreeing with him, meowing together: "Sure." "Whatever." Silverpaw began working on the tent while Ashpaw gathered up the firewood and placed them on the toboggan; despite still angry at each other, they didn't complain one bit.

Goldpaw gave a relieved smile and sighed, "Well, it's just all in a day's work for the Avatar Cat, then. Just making peace and settling arguments. I'm glad that's over."

But the Avatar Cat's relief was over when he heard the sound of Tobias squawking. The hawk was desperately trying to remove a pheasant that Archie was holding upright with a left forepaw. Tobias struggled and even attempted to flutter away from it, but with no success. He gave up and began to walk away, looking depressed. Archie groaned with satisfaction, opened his jaws, and his tongue scooped up the pheasant.

But as he closed his jaws, Tobias returned, scooped up the pheasant, and flew away. He fell from the extra weight and bumped into Goldpaw, who took the fowl, threw it up into the air, and cut a small piece of it off with a spurt of air. The large slice landed in front of Archie, who ate it, and the small portion landed in front of Tobias, who turned on Goldpaw and chirped with protest.

"Tobias, let it go," Goldpaw scolded his hawk gently. "Dragons have to eat too. He's got as much stomach muscles as a bison!"

**...**

The next day, the three cats, the hawk, and the dragon continued on their journey through the badlands. They stopped at the top of a very large canyon that looked as if a giant cat had taken a very big swipe at the ground and left the canyon in place.

Goldpaw heard a legend about how an ancient Clan called WindClan came to be. Legend had it that their first leader in StarClan had scooped some earth out of a hillside and made a home for the WindClan cats.

"Here it is, you two. The Great Canyon," Goldpaw told them as they stood on the rim.

"Wow! It's so awesome!" Silverpaw exclaimed as she looked around at the magnificent view. "I could see the world from here!"

However, Ashpaw ruined the good mood with a loud blasé yawn as he muttered, "Eh...seen one canyon, seen 'em all."

"Ashpaw, why would you say that?" Silverpaw asked her brother, appalled about her brother's yawning and lack of interest. "This canyon is the biggest canyon on the entire planet!"

"We'll be able to see some more of it, Silverpaw...once we fly away," the dark gray tabby tomcat retorted, his jaws around Archie's reins as he led the dragon away.

Silverpaw was about to prepare a retort of her own...if she wasn't interrupted.

All of a sudden, a young light gray tabby tom in an ornate white cape ran forward, his whiskers twitching. He dashed past Ashpaw and shoved him aside rather rudely, making him yowl in shock. The three apprentices just stared at him with surprise.

The young pale tabby tom spat, "Hey, you three! If there's any cat who's looking for the guide of the canyon, it's gonna be me!"

Goldpaw just had no choice but to nod while Silverpaw leaped around on one spot hopefully. "Ooohhh...a canyon guide! This sounds helpful!" she squealed.

"Believe me, he's more than just a guide; he's also a great EarthBending cat!" the pale gray tabby tom declared pompously, twitching his tail. "The only way to get through that canyon is to tag along with him! And he'll be the one to take MY pack across first!"

But as he yammered on, Ashpaw padded from up behind him and silently started to mock him by opening and closing his jaws and waved his tail in the "This guy talks too much" gesticulation, much to Goldpaw's amusement and Silverpaw's anger. At the conclusion of the Scout's talk, he glared around at Ashpaw, who faked innocence and padded off to Silverpaw and Goldpaw.

"Come on! You'll be next!" the WaterClan tom told him.

However, the Scout pointed his muzzle at Ashpaw and snapped, "If I were you, I wouldn't be calm if FireClan destroyed my home and forced me to flee!" He angrily pointed his tail to the vast canyon system in front of them. "My whole pack has to pad for many skylengths to the capital city of BoulderClan!"

"So you're a loner!" Silverpaw mewed.

"Huh. Tell me something I don't know," the pale gray tom replied.

Suddenly, a yowl echoed through the canyon and there was a scent of mud and rabbits coming straight at the four cats. Silverpaw squinted over at the arriving mass and asked the Scout, "Is that your pack?"

The pale gray tabby scout gave her a confused look, sniffed at where she was looking, and his yellow eyes glittered with hostility. "No it ISN'T."

Now all the cats were approaching them and they saw that these cats had a lot of dirt and mud on their pelts as they prowled forward, making them look scruffy. They had badger and fox pelts over their fur and they were mostly dark brown or black. There were no lighter colors or splashes of white.

"That is the Feng Tribe; they're nothing but a gang of seditious crooks. They've been the enemies of my own pack for fourteen years," the Scout informed the apprentices. Then he turned to those cats and bared his fangs, snarling, "Hey, Feng cats! I'm saving a spot for my tribe! So don't even THINK of stealing it! Find your own!"

All three apprentices had to recoil when a very big dark brown tabby she-cat, who looked like a female Tigerstar, stalked right up to him, the odor coming from her even smellier than crowfood and a skunk put together. Her amber eyes narrowed as she retorted, "And where the hell are the rest of those Kota cats? Are those little pussycats still cleaning up their camp?"

She shoved the smaller cat backward and that made him look afraid as his yellow eyes widened with shock. But his fur bristled as he shoved her back, spitting, "Yes! They sent me ahead to save them a spot! And I don't appreciate your language!"

"Wow. I didn't know the guide can reserve spots," the big dark brown tabby meowed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well, of course you didn't!" the Scout retorted, his teeth baring much more. "That's the lack of knowledge I'd expect from an untidy stupid Feng cat! You're all so unorganized and ill-prepared for a long expedition!"

The entire Feng tribe began to complain and yowl furiously and noisily at this; soon, an angry mob was about to form. Both Goldpaw and Silverpaw felt unsettled at this disagreement while Tobias was behind them, sitting on a pile of rocks on the edge of the canyon. Ashpaw did not say anything; it seemed that he didn't want to be involved.

Suddenly, the sound of moving earth was heard, the rocks under the hawk trembled and began to split apart. Tobias flew away from the rocks just in time as the rocks were picked up and thrown out of the way by an old pale ginger tom. This was probably the canyon guide in a straw hat.

"Sorry about the long wait, youngsters," he grunted in a Southern accent as he shook his fur to get rid of the extra dirt. He began gesturing to the majestic canyon right below the cats. "Who's ready to cross this here canyon, eh?"

"Um...I think one of those cats, I presume," Silverpaw spoke up, pointing her tail at the scout and the Feng cats.

The scout took the chance to strut forward and pipe up, "Yes! I was the one who was here first! My pack is on their way here!"

_Um..._we_ were the ones who were here first, _Ashpaw mouthed to Goldpaw, who nodded back and felt the same way.

But the canyon guide looked around and meowed, "I can't guide any fellers who ain't here."

Angrily and sullenly, the pale gray tabby tom glared down at the ground, unsheathed the claws on one paw, and swiped them at the earth. Goldpaw felt like he should feel sorry, but for some odd reason, he felt he should leave himself out of this. There would be more trouble if he and his pack were to interfere.

"Aww, looks like you shitheads have to wait till tomorrow," the huge dark brown tabby she-cat meowed with mock sadness. She had a sneer on her face before leading her pack past him.

The pale tabby tom looked up and around at them, his yellow eyes glittering and twitching with anger. But as he looked up, his eyes changed from anger to relief and triumph as he called, "No, wait! Here they come!"

Goldpaw, Silverpaw, and Ashpaw looked around at where the pale gray tabby tom was shouting about. Padding elegantly and pompously toward them was another pack of cats. These cats had emerald green capes tied around their necks and their pelts looked very neat and well-groomed and they were all either pale gray or white; there was no darker color or blotches of black or dark brown.

The Feng leader snorted and growled at the canyon guide, "Are you going to really take in these pampered Kota cats? We're loners too! And we have to shelter our sick cats!"

"I...well...I..." the pale ginger tom stuttered, waving his tail in a sign of comfort.

"We have elders to carry across!" the pale gray tabby tom spat, padding away from his enemy to stand next to a white tabby tom with green eyes and a grizzled muzzle; this cat appeared to be the leader of the Kota cats.

"Sick cats get more privileges than old cats, you little smartass!" the Feng leader snapped.

The white tabby tom took a step forward and meowed, "If you Feng cats weren't such pigs, you wouldn't have so much ill cats! And your language is unpardonable indeed!"

The dark brown tabby she-cat also took a step forward and snarled, "If you Kota cats weren't such cleaner shrimp, you wouldn't grow to be old!"

"Well, we can smell your skunk stench a fox-length away!" the Kota leader growled.

During this bickering, Goldpaw, Silverpaw, and Ashpaw looked from one pack to the other in great confusion. They didn't know what to do; if they got in their way, they could get hurt. But suddenly, to Goldpaw's wonder, Silverpaw asked him, "You ready to put your peace powers to the test, Goldpaw?"

"I-I don't know, Silverpaw," Goldpaw mewed, shuffling his paws and feeling unclear. There was a difference in doing chores and two fighting packs. He looked back at her and meowed, "Fights over chores is one thing; a fight between two packs of cats is another thing. You heard what they said. They've been fighting for fourteen years."

Silverpaw laid her tail on his shoulder before stepping forward and placing herself dangerously between the two tribes. She had a fierce and determined look on her face raised her voice to be heard by all of them.

"Every cat old enough to catch their own prey listen up! My friend Goldpaw is the Avatar Cat! If you listen, he will come up with a compromise to make you happy!"

The two tribes stopped arguing angrily and turned around to face the silver she-cat as she spoke. Goldpaw saw that everyone was looking at him and, after a few seconds of shuffling his paws, spoke up.

Clearing his throat, he meowed, "Can you guys share the guide and go together?"

"No! We'd rather be slain by FireClan than travel together with those reeking crooks!" the white tabby Kota leader snapped once the Avatar Cat stopped, pointing his muzzle at the Feng cats.

The dark brown tabby Feng leader did the same thing, pointing her muzzle at her foe, and spat, "And we wouldn't journey with you pompous furballs anyway!"

The tabby tom retorted pompously, "I am _not_ pompous!" And in seconds, the two tribes were arguing back and forth.

"_Will you guys stop bitching at each other and listen to me?_" Goldpaw screeched so fiercely that the two packs stopped arguing and looked at him again. He glanced at every one of them; now was the time to make these cats cooperate.

He padded in between them and growled, "You are all to travel in this canyon as one and Archie will carry your sick and elderly to the other side! Will that be enough for you?"

The two leaders nodded their grudging approval and even they had to see that there was no other choice. Goldpaw let out a relieved sigh with a little smile on his face. He turned around to see Silverpaw and Ashpaw looking happy too.

_Looks like this trip _will _go well after all..._

**...**

Archie's saddle was now filled with the sick and elderly cats from both Kota and Feng tribes. Goldpaw had to give a small sigh when he saw the sick and elderly cats glare distrustfully at one another and sit far away from each other. Elderly cats would sometimes trust other cats due to experience of socialization, but these cats...

_Even the disabled cats hate each other. But it'll be over soon, _he thought. Out loud, he mewed to his dragon, "You'll have to do this alone, Archie. I'm sorry."

But his dragon kindly licked him all over his face and plodded off to the canyon guide.

"Looks like this feuding heap of mouse-dung is serious, huh?" Ashpaw asked the golden AirClan cat. "Are you sure we should get involved?"

"I don't know," Goldpaw replied, looking down to the ground. Then he looked up at him and gave him a calming smile, meowing, "But when the hell have I ever been unsure, silly furball?"

Silverpaw padded over to the two toms, placed her tail reassuringly on the Avatar Cat's shoulder, and mewed to her brother, "Ashpaw, don't forget that he's the Avatar Cat. One of his duties is to make peace between other cats and uphold the Warrior Code."

But all that Ashpaw did was slump his shoulders. "And one of his other duties is to make us haul our carcasses all the way through that canyon?"

**...**

Just a few more minutes later, the three apprentices and the two quarreling tribes of cats were waiting in front of the canyon guide. They couldn't wait to get on through the Great Canyon; the sooner they would cross it, the sooner the two packs would go to BoulderClan.

"I have some bad news for you all," the pale ginger-furred EarthBender called, raising his voice for every cat to hear him. "No fresh-kill or hunting allowed in this canyon! The scent of food will attract perilous predators!" At this, he made some motions with his front paws to demonstrate the creeping monsters that could lurk in the canyon.

At this, both Kota and Feng cats began to complain. Their displeased tension rose again not just at the mention of perilous predators but also at the banning of food. "No fresh-kill? This is an outrage!" the white tabby Kota leader snapped.

As a response, the Canyon Guide retorted while making a mocking baby tone, "Aww, can't you baby kitties go for one day without fresh-kill? Would you pussycats be hungry...or dead?"

He raised a column of stone from under him and he was now towering ten fox lengths or more over the rest of the felines. He continued, "We'll head on down in just ten minutes. All food on ya should be in your belly or in the crowfood pile! Tell your food 'Get in my belly!'"

Lunchtime soon began and it varied among the different cats. The Feng cats were pulling some bits of food from their badger and fox pelts and began to eat like hungry pigs. But the Kota cats were gently pulling food and two sticks from their white capes. They grasped the sticks between their paws and ate neatly, spearing the food with those sticks, eating civilly, and using napkins to wipe their mouths.

Meanwhile, Goldpaw decided to give Archie the signal, so he padded to his dragon with the sick and elderly cats on his saddle. "Archie will care of you and make sure nothing will ambush you while on your trip," he mewed to the cats. He turned to Archie, patted him of the forehead, and purred, "We'll see ya on the other side, boy. Yip yip!"

The white furry Asian Lung dragon let out a roar of understanding and flew off into the sky.

Goldpaw watched him go, remembering hearing stories of the gorge near WindClan territory that rushed with water. An ancient RiverClan warrior named Whiteclaw and an ancient ThunderClan leader named Bluestar died in that gorge. But this was a canyon and as long as a flood didn't find the cats, they would be okay.

**...**

After Archie flew off, the two tribes and the extra cats were prowling down a steep path. Tobias flew ahead of them, obviously searching for some prey. Goldpaw wondered if the 'no food' rule didn't matter for hawks; besides, his pet hawk was a predator like him.

Goldpaw and the Canyon Guide led the way with Silverpaw and Ashpaw behind them; the two tribes were following those two in return. Just then, the pale ginger Canyon Guide held up his tail for all of them to stop. Goldpaw looked ahead to see why: there was a small gap that wasn't all that wide, but it was still too far to leap to the other side since it went down for many cat-lengths.

The pale ginger tom whirled around on the spot and made a quick motion with his muzzle and tail. With a grunt of effort, he summoned up blocks of stone that pushed themselves outward from the canyon wall face to repair the path in front of them. Goldpaw was amazed.

"Wow! Awesome Bending!" he praised the canyon guide.

"Oh, it's more than just the Bending, youngster!" the guide purred as all the cats moved forward again. "Many cats yearn for knowledge!"

They stopped and the canyon guide turned around to lecture to the crowd. He continued, "I'm sure some of you cats are maybe wondering how canyons are formed. Well, some archeologists around here tell us that this canyon was likely carved into the ground by water. But others say it was made by EarthClan spirits who were angry at local cats for not following the Warrior Code."

Both Silverpaw and Ashpaw turned to look around at one another with uncertainty in their blue eyes. All of a sudden, they let out mews of horror and Goldpaw felt his belly lurch when he saw what was happening: a rock slide was forming above them. The rocks raced down right towards the group of cats, but they were Bended away by the guide.

"I expect they're still angry!" he purred. "You better follow the Warrior Code!"

All the cats had now padded down to the canyon floor as the Guide prowled ahead of the Kota and Feng tribes and the three Clan apprentices. As soon as the last cat reached the huge pack, the Guide waved his tail to let the cats stand back; as they did, the canyon guide EarthBended a nearby rock projection and hurled it at the bridge he created earlier. The bridge was now ruined.

"Wait, why the hell did you do that?" Goldpaw asked him with bewilderment. Rubble from the bridge landed behind them and raised a cloud of earth that buried everything, making it a little hard for the cats to see.

"These cats are fleeing from FireClan! Don't you know, young'un?" the canyon guide purred with satisfaction. "To make them stop, we gotta blow up that bridge. We're safe now!"

But he was wrong...

Suddenly, a pincer emerged from the dust and picked up the Guide, who yowled in surprise and horror. The pincer pulled the pale ginger EarthBender into the dust and there was a nasty crunch of bones and a splatter of blood on the ground. Feeling sickened and horrified, Goldpaw whipped his tail around and hurled the air at the dust, which disappeared and revealed the creature that took the guide.

It was a huge black insect-like creature with eight legs like a spider, eight red eyes, and a long thin mouth with teeth like a crocodile. The canyon guide was in the creature's mouth, screeching for help. What Goldpaw saw next almost made him vomit: there was a bloodied cat's leg laying a few inches away from another creature, which gobbled it off. One of these animals had snapped the Canyon Guide's right front leg clean off.

Ashpaw leaped forward, growling, "We gotta help that old timer!"

He leaped forward and sliced at the creature with his claws, making it drop the injured cat and head straight at him. As the older tom landed with a crunchy thud, the creature began chasing Ashpaw, who dodged it under its legs and yowled shock.

"Now _I_ need some help!" he called as he leaped behind a rock.

The creature followed over the ledge as Ashpaw fled. Silverpaw opened her water pouch on a rope around her neck and whipped it with the water. It smacked the creature on the face, and she dashed forward to bite it on its leg, but it didn't do much except irritate the giant insect. It tried to bite her, but the silver she-cat lunged away as Goldpaw dropped down and shot a gust of air at the monster. It got blown backward, but it got up and tried to charge again.

With enough lead time before the creature got to him, Goldpaw was able to create a tornado with his staff and tail. He caught the animal in the tornado and threw it far up the cliff. Able to walk on the walls, the creature quickly hid in one of the canyon walls many crevices as its companion joined it.

Goldpaw glanced to the canyon guide, who was lying in a small pool of blood, and asked him, "What in the name of StarClan was that thing?"

"It was a Canyon Crawler! Ow! Argh!" the canyon guide rasped in pain, coughing as Silverpaw rushed to his side and began licking his ruffled fur. "There's gonna be more, I'll tell ya that!"

"Your left front leg's broken and your right front leg got eaten! We need cobwebs and dried oak leaves!" Silverpaw meowed with sorrow as she licked off the blood from the EarthBender's fur. She gathered a group of cobwebs from a thorn bush and spread them onto the older tom's leg.

The Canyon Guide rasped with surprise and moaned, "Oh no! Without those legs of mine, I'm a cripple and I can't EarthBend! Without them-"

"Then we're trapped in this canyon with those beasts..." Goldpaw rasped as he looked upward.

He sent a silent prayer to StarClan that they deliver all these cats out of the canyon for he couldn't learn EarthBending for quite a while. But the Guide was right; they were trapped...

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldpaw stopped whimpering because it wouldn't solve anything. He looked around at what happened: the Canyon Crawlers had attacked the guide and eaten his front leg. If it weren't for him and his friends, the pale ginger EarthBender would have been eaten as well.

As for the two tribes of quarreling cats, they were staring after the Canyon Crawlers in terror. In the meantime, Silverpaw placed one more bit of burdock root poultice onto the pale ginger tom's wounds.

"Hey, I thought predators don't go after cats that don't have food on them!" Ashpaw spoke up, staring at the canyon walls around him. "But now we have to go through to avoid those...Canyon Crawlers..."

"It's those wretched Feng cats!" the white tabby leader of the Kota tribe snapped, pointing his muzzle at the Feng cats with fury. "They didn't listen to the guide when he told us to not bring fresh-kill, and they went ahead and brought food in!"

The huge dark brown tabby leader of the Feng tribe pointed her tail at her foe and spat, "Well, if there are cats that can't stand one sunrise without food, it's you snobby spoiled Kota cats!"

The white tabby tom snorted, lifted his nose in the air, and retorted, "Well, I hope you warthogs are satisfied with yourselves. Now we're all stuck here in this canyon with no way out!"

While the two leaders argued, Goldpaw and his friends were looking from cat to cat; Goldpaw was not feeling happy after this. They were almost killed, and those leaders could do nothing but argue.

"Just go thank your damn selves, prey-stealers!" the Feng leader shot back.

Goldpaw decided that this was enough; if they continued to argue, the Canyon Crawlers will come back and pick the cats off one by one. He dashed in between them and started to meow, "Guys, stop arguing! We have to stick together and-"

"Get out of the way!" the dark tabby she-cat hissed, shoving the Avatar Cat aside rudely and pointing her tail again at the Kota cats. "As far as we're concerned, we're not gonna take another pawstep with those cleaner shrimp!"

"Now _that _is something I agree with you for once!" the white tabby added.

Goldpaw got back up after being shoved down and started to lick his fur to get rid of the dust. Silverpaw and Ashpaw moved forward to help, but he waved them off, meowing, "Guys, I'm okay. So do you have any ideas?"

A sudden groan of fear made all three apprentices and the two quarreling packs turn around to the source. The pale ginger canyon guide was looking around the canyon, looking very fearful and his eyes were already wide and getting wider. Madness seemed to clutch onto his mind, for he began to mutter madly.

"There's no EarthBending. We gotta get out of this canyon. I don't wanna die down here! I don't wanna become Canyon Crawler chow!"

Goldpaw felt a pang of sympathy for the old cat and he was about to reply when the Kota leader suddenly snarled at his Feng foil, "See there, you horrible pieces of fox-dung? We are all going to be Canyon Crawler chow and it is your entire fault!"

"Oh, look here! Always blame the Feng cats just like you always do!" the Feng leader growled, unsheathing her claws.

"Gladly!" the Kota leader retorted, stalking forward and ready to meet his adversary face-to-face without mercy.

That did it.

"_All right, that's enough!_" Goldpaw screeched as he sent a wind of air from his jaws and blasting it in between the two leaders and surprising every cat. If they wanted to argue all day long, then there had to be something to stop them for right now.

"You know what? I thought you'd be okay going together, but I suppose it's not gonna happen!" he scolded them all.

He climbed onto a near rock and stood above every cat, feeling that this had to be the only thing to do. The bluff was the beginning of what amounted to a stone baulk between two canyons on either side. "I'm gonna have to separate you tribes. Feng cats go to the left and Kota cats go to the right. Travel in separate lines."

Both their leader turned to glare at one another one more time before nodding in agreement with the golden apprentice. They and their following packs began to take their separate paths, Feng cats on the left, Kota cats on the right. Goldpaw leaped down easily as Ashpaw and Silverpaw came to him, their eyes concerned.

"I think you guys should go on a warrior's mission. Ashpaw, you go with the Feng cats. And Silverpaw, you go with the Kota cats. Gather all of the information you can and figure out why the hell they hate each other so much."

Both WaterClan apprentices nodded to one another and began following the pack they were each given. Goldpaw climbed up onto another cliff and stood there, studying the vast land around him, thinking of SkyClan's territory from nursery tales...

**...**

Ashpaw looked around the Feng cat camp as the sun began to set behind the canyon walls, making the camp seem darker than usual. All around him, the cats of the Feng tribe were leaving their scent on the rocks and shrubs around him, play-fighting with one another, and setting up tents.

He approached the Feng leader, who was helping a dark brown tom with a black muzzle heave up a tent into shape, and he asked her, "Uh, guys? You're not putting up your canvases?"

"Why the hell should we?" the Feng leader answered him with that rhetorical question. "The dry spell is over the land! There's no need for that."

"Of course!" Ashpaw replied, releasing suppressed exasperation.

The huge dark brown tabby she-cat turned to him with a grin as she meowed, "Besides, those canvases make really nice blankets for our nests!"

Ashpaw sighed with relief, remembering the row with his sister last night. "Someone finally understands!"

**...**

Silverpaw looked around the Kota cat camp as the sun set behind the canyon, making the camp look darker than usual. All around her, the cats of the Kota tribe were very busy keeping their tents up. She was pleased to see that they were using the canvases on them.

As she watched two white-furred she-cats set up those over their tents, she turned around to the Kota leader. "Are you guys sure it's going to rain?" she asked him.

"I doubt it," he replied, twitching his whiskers with some doubt. But he turned to smile at her as he went on, "But you can never be too careful, hmmm?"

Silverpaw purred with satisfaction at that comment.

A few minutes later, when the moon hung in the sky like a claw, crickets chirped as Silverpaw sat next to the Kota leader while the other cats surrounded the campfire. After a moment, the Kota leader looked around once and then produced a fish from underneath his cape.

Silverpaw gasped with astonishment. _How did they-?_

Soon all the Kota cats were eating fish and vegetables with their chopsticks. Silverpaw saw that they all violated the ban.

The white tabby tom nudged the fish he didn't eat to the silver apprentice and meowed politely, "Silverpaw, would you like a fish?"

But Silverpaw didn't take it; instead, she mewed with shock, "So you were the ones who brought food here! Why, though?"

"Oh, pish-posh!" he replied, waving his paw glibly. "Do you honestly believe that the band of thieves isn't smuggling food here? Why should my pack starve while those pigs are gulping their hearts out?"

Silverpaw glanced around to see that the cats weren't bothered at all about the ban. She felt as if some part of the Warrior Code was broken, but her growling belly told her to not worry. She took the fish, meowing, "Well...I guess it's okay if everyone's doing it."

After taking a few bites from the delicious fish, she asked the white tabby leader, "So why do your tribe and the Feng tribe hate each other so much?"

The Kota leader gazed at her with luminous green eyes as clear as an emerald as he replied, "Well, Silverpaw, you seem to be a determined and intelligent Clan apprentice. I'm more than happy to pass you that knowledge."

He sat down and raised his voice for all the cats to hear him: "Legend says that Kota, a white tom with blue eyes and the leader of our tribe, was an EarthBender warrior who was assigned a vital task: carry our sacred sphere from the Great Eastern Gate to the Great Western Gate. Taking the sphere from the east to the west represents the sun's rising and setting. It was our pack's ancient salvation ritual...but suddenly, he was attacked and killed by one of the Feng cats! A sneaking black cat with yellow eyes named Feng wanted that sphere for himself, so he killed Kota for it.

"Our cats had never forgotten, or forgiven, that awful memory. Mark my words, you must never trust a Feng cat," the Kota leader finished as he closed his eyes in remembrance.

Silverpaw nodded to him and turned around to glare suspiciously at the camp where the Feng cats were staying at. She could imagine the great white warrior Kota loyally carrying out his duty by carrying the sphere; with a shudder of disgust, she could see the black cat named Feng sinking his teeth and claws into Kota's throat until his white pelt was stained with blood and the rogue snatched the orb from Kota's unmoving jaws. The Kota leader was right.

_I must _never_ trust a Feng cat!_

**...**

Ashpaw felt hungry as he sat beside the Feng leader as her fellow cats surrounded the campfire. Suddenly, to Ashpaw's surprise, the huge tabby she-cat pulled a leg of lamb from the badger-pelt she was carrying.

"Care for some fresh-kill?" she asked Ashpaw, nudging it to him.

"Thanks!" The dark gray tabby tom leaped onto the meat and tore into it hungrily, forgetting to thank StarClan for this meal.

"I know what you're thinking," the Feng leader told him, her amber eyes narrowing with anger. "You're thinking we're jeopardizing every cat's life by bringing food into here."

Ashpaw continued to gnaw on the leg of lamb, munching and barely paying attention to what she said. "Mmm-mmm!" was all he could say.

The Feng she-cat perhaps thought he was agreeing with her, for she added, "Well, those Kota asses think so badly of us by thinking we were gonna bring food in that THEY brought food in this canyon. So that's why WE brought some in."

"Mmm!" Ashpaw exclaimed, still not paying attention and still munching away.

"The quarrel between the Feng and Kota tribes goes back to over fourteen years," the Feng leader mewed, looking up to the starry night sky. Then she raised her voice to tell every cat and: "Feng, a black tom with yellow eyes and our founder, was leaving the western gate of our village...when he saw a lone figure in the distance. It was a blue-eyed white tom named Kota, and he had fallen on the ground, dying from starvation. The great Feng stopped by with sympathy to help him, for Kota was moving a sacred sphere, a powerful artifact used in his pack's salvation rite. Feng tried to tend to his bloody wounds, but Kota said that the sphere was more important and asked him to take it back to his pack.

"Gentle Feng promised to bring help for Kota as fast as he could. But when he crossed the border to return the sphere into Kita territory, he was arrested and wrongly thrown into prison for two long miserable years!" the Feng leader hissed angrily, her voice rising to a screech.

Then she lowered her voice that was filled with anger, "Because the damn Kota tribe did not thank Feng for his heroic noble deed, we Feng cats had never, and will never, forgive their sin."

Ashpaw took a gulp from the leg of lamb not just to swallow it, but because he didn't know about that kind of history. _How dare those Kota cats do that to poor old Feng?_

"That's awful. Really awful," he replied. Eyeing her rabbit, he added, "Are you gonna eat that?"

In reply, the huge dark tabby she-cat growled and took a hearty bite out of her fresh-kill while staring at him with tough amber eyes. Ashpaw couldn't argue with a cat much bigger than him, so he did nothing except crouch to the ground and slink away.

**...**

Far from the Kota and Feng cats, Goldpaw and Tobias were gazing at them with longing in their gray and green eyes. Goldpaw had paced around while trying to sleep. He even tried to sing himself a song called "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" that he heard when he was a kit.

Goldenstripe had sung it to him every night before he went to sleep. The old golden tabby had even told him once that his parents used to sing it to him before he was given away to the travelers. But he couldn't sleep even with the song being repeated over and over again.

Instead, he muttered to Tobias, "I'd give anything to be there with all those cats, being warm near a fire, eating prey, and sharing tongues with all of them. But once we get out of here, we'll eat all the mice we can eat!"

He turned to Tobias, but the hawk was busy on pinning a shrew to the ground and laying it at his master's paws.

"No thanks. I'll save my appetite for some mice," Goldpaw mewed, shaking his head.

Tobias ruffled his feathers in a hawk-like shrug and began to gulp down some shrew meat.

"It's a lonely part, eh?" Goldpaw started a little, but he turned to see that it was just the pale ginger canyon guide, limping to him with two sticks used as walking forelegs. "It's lonely being neutral."

"Yeah," the Avatar Cat meowed. Then he added, "I wish I can help those two tribes get along, but they're too stubborn! Getting out of this hellhole canyon may be the hardest problem."

The pale tom just gave a wincing shrug as he laid down next to Goldpaw and curled himself into an awkward ball. "Youngster, I don't know if their problems are unrelated."

Without another word, he had fallen fast asleep, snoring and making his whiskers twitch in his sleep.

Goldpaw sadly followed suit, but he couldn't help but remember the distantly familiar soft purr of his mother singing gently to him:

_Hush, my darling_

_Don't fear, my darling_

_The lion sleeps tonight_

_Hush, my darling_

_Don't fear, my darling_

_The lion sleeps tonight..._

**...**

The next morning, Goldpaw woke up with a stretching yawn, and he saw two clouds of black and white approach the rock where he was sleeping on. The canyon guide must have gotten up before he did and walked off.

_The early cat gets the prey, they always say, _he thought with amusement.

With one more yawn, Goldpaw padded down the rock to greet the two packs of cats approaching him. He was relieved to see that Silverpaw and Ashpaw had done their duty; they were bringing up the rear as they walked forward with their heads and tails held high.

"So will these tribes work together just some more so that they can leave?" he asked them as they approached him.

Silverpaw had a glare in her dark sapphire eyes as she replied, "I don't think they will, Goldpaw. Those Feng cats committed a deep crime against the Kota cats. The founder of the Feng tribe ambushed Kota, killed him, and stole their sacred sphere."

This baffled Goldpaw; this seemed as much sense as trying to follow a butterfly. "Silverpaw, what the hell are you meowing about?"

"He's right, Silverpaw; what the hell _are_ you meowing about?" Ashpaw butted in, his neck fur bristling and his tail thrashing. "Feng wasn't trying to steal that sphere; he was just trying to help Kota return it to his tribe. But those Kota cats wrongfully punished him!"

"Certainly, he wasn't punished enough to me!" Silverpaw retorted as she narrowed her eyes and wrapped her tail around her paws.

Ashpaw began to growl as he unsheathed his claws and stalked threateningly toward his sister while the silver apprentice did the same thing. Feeling that it was enough fighting for now, Goldpaw placed himself between the two WaterClan cats.

"That's enough, you two!" he snapped. More calmly, he went on, "Look, I really need your help, you two. How about we gather everyone at the base of the canyon wall?"

Without delay, he took his glider out of his bag, opened the wings, and flew off to where the two packs of loners went off to. He finally found the tribes facing each other...and they were arguing again for no apparent reason.

Giving a sigh, he folded his glider up, landed on the ground on all four paws, and addressed the crowd, "Every cat listen to me! We'll all hunt for some fresh-kill and eat, and then we'll go our separate ways when we leave here! Just put your head together and try to figure out to how to climb a cliff!"

But the tribes certainly looked like they would rather be eaten by wolves than get along and work together as one. Instead, the white tabby Kota leader retorted, "I have an idea! Perhaps the Feng can climb the cliff with their long disgusting bloody claws!"

Then the huge dark brown tabby she-cat snorted angrily and replied sarcastically, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I forgot long claws are a crime punishable by death to you Kota cats!"

"Why, you dirty dog!"

"You pompous ass!"

At that, the tribes began arguing again as they bared their fangs and pulled out their claws. But this time, they were (to Goldpaw's shock and disbelief) joined by Silverpaw and Ashpaw, who had become partisans of their particular packs. It looked as if the two littermates weren't really true littermates or even true Clanmates.

"Guys, will you focus for just one second?" Goldpaw yowled, leaping forward, grabbing each of his friends by the scruff, and making them sit together. "I've said this before and I'll say it again: _Action_ will solve problems, not _harsh words_!"

Both leaders continued to glare at one another, but they flicked their ears and tails to show that they were listening to him. Finally, after a minute's worth of thinking over, they sheathed their claws and gazed at each other with a determined look.

"Looks like the Avatar Cat has us in the bag," the Feng leader meowed, narrowing her eyes.

The Kota leader nodded in return and replied, "Why...yes, he has. And he is right."

Goldpaw let out a breath of relief as he began thinking, _Good! It's about time!_

Maybe those cats could learn to work together to get out of this canyon and get along from there. And he hoped Silverpaw and Ashpaw learned their lesson from what had happened over the past few days.

But to his horror, the huge dark brown tabby she-cat unsheathed her claws once again and hissed with resolve and anger, "He is right, after all. Action _will_ solve problems..."

"..._not_ harsh words!" the Kota leader added as he unsheathed his also and stalked threateningly toward his counterpart. The dark brown tabby Feng leader stalked forward also and let out a furious battle cry. The white tabby let out a battle cry also and both cats flung themselves at each other.

Goldpaw could only just stand there and watch as Goldenstripe's words crumbled right before him. All those words that the old golden AirBender had given him were trampled to the dust like horses pawing the ground for food. He gave a yowl of horror, but no cats were listening to him now...

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldpaw couldn't do anything as the Kota and Feng leader pounced at one another, their eyes blazing and their claws glittering in the morning sun. After a swift scuffle, they leaped back; they weren't injured yet, but their pelts were quite ruffled from quick paw swipes.

"We shall fight to the death! This will put an end to our rivalry!" the white tabby Kota leader barked.

Goldpaw leaped in nervously and squeaked, "Guys, I didn't mean it when action will solve problems! Maybe harsh words won't be a bad idea after all!"

But the leaders paid no attention to him and began the clash in a solemn style. After several claw swipes and teeth flashing, they shoved each other apart. The Kota leader's right ear was bleeding while the Feng leader had several of her whiskers torn off and bloody scars on her chest. They ran at each other again, ready for another deadly strike, but when they met, Goldpaw brought his stuff down and blew the two sides backwards.

The young golden tom couldn't believe that two leaders would fight like this and they hadn't paid attention to him when he told them not to fight. He was breathing heavily with a savage look on his face and his dark gray eyes flashed with fire as he turned to the leader. What he saw next was beyond belief.

The Kota leader was looking surprised, but a wrapped blanket of food had opened and spilled its contents all over the dusty ground. Hastily, the pale gray tabby tom from the day before dashed forward and covered it with another blanket. Goldpaw angrily placed himself in front of every cat.

"Did I just see...fresh-kill?" he rasped with rage and disbelief. "Did EVERY cat sneak food down here?" Every cat nodded and Goldpaw saw his friends had a look of shame on their faces. "You are all so fucking stupid! Why jeopardize everyone just because you don't want to starve like a flea? You're all...AWFUL!"

But suddenly, he looked behind the Feng cats and saw something that made his mouth water and his eyes go huge: There was a cream-colored pie sitting right there, just begging to be eaten. He could imagine it screaming to him, "Please! Eat me!"

Goldpaw swiped his tongue over his lips and his belly gave a loud grumble. He pointed his tail to the pie and tried to hold himself back as he rasped, "I'm so starved... ...is there...rabbit meat in that pie...?"

But he was so busy with the pie that he didn't notice a hissing and clicking noise behind him.

Suddenly, Canyon Crawlers came into sight all together, attracted by the smell of food. The large monsters were soon upon them, and both Kota and Feng packs fled from the scene. Meanwhile, Silverpaw and Ashpaw leaped behind the nearest rock they could find, and Goldpaw snapped out of his stupor and leapt away in time.

"Oh shit, there are a lot of Canyon Crawlers here!" Silverpaw moaned.

Ashpaw bobbed his head up and down in agreement and added, "I know! And we barely chased _one_ off!"

As Goldpaw leaped in front of his friends to fight for them, the canyon guide limped right by them, his amber eyes wide with horror. He was muttering to himself, "They've come back for my flesh! They ate my leg and they want more!" He limped away until he was out of sight.

Ashpaw stepped forward to leave the cover of the boulder and attack, a look of determination on his face, but he was pulled away by the tail by Silverpaw. She mewed through a mouthful of tail, "Ashpaw, hold on! I don't want to be a part of this damn feud anymore! I just want all of us cats to get out alive!"

"Me too," Ashpaw mewed with a displeased look on his face. "I only went with the Feng cats because they gave me some food." They both dashed away from behind the rock, and then they charged toward the nearest Canyon Crawlers.

Goldpaw soared above them on his glider, landed onto his two hind legs, and AirBended a strong wind at a wall of the insects; sadly, it had no effect. They charged and butted their heads together as Goldpaw leaped into the air when they got to him. He blasted them away from each other as he fell back down. This stunned them for a short time, but they got back up at once.

General melee began as the creatures attacked both Feng and Kota cats. The dark tabby Feng leader was wrestling with a smaller Canyon Crawler while Silverpaw swiped her claws towards another intimidating two Kota queens. Another monster broke her water whip, however, and she was tossed into the air and down to the ground. Ashpaw was being chased by a Crawler, but he slashed at its face with his claws.

Meanwhile, Goldpaw blasted four more Crawlers out of his way with AirBending. However, he saw that the Crawlers cornered small groups of cats all over the place. The Avatar Cat sniffed the air, and he looked over to see the Crawlers eating some of the smuggled food, their heads inside the food bags.

_That's it! If they're attracted to the food, we can use them to escape! _he thought with realization. Out loud, he raised his voice to yowl to every cat, "Every cat old enough to catch their own prey listen up! Watch me and do what I do!"

He leaped toward the nearest bunch of Crawlers and threw a rabbit at them. One of the Crawlers caught the fresh-kill in its jaws and munched on it. The other Crawler ran toward him, but he put the bag over its snout. He leaped onto its bag, sheathed his claws, and used the bag straps as reins like what he used for Archie. The two packs of cats were now finally working together, repeating the process to turn the monsters into insect versions of horses or elephants. Soon all the cats had a Canyon Crawler mount.

"Follow me! We're leaving this hellhole!"

With a mischievous look on his face, Goldpaw swung a stick with a bag of food on the end in front of his mount, which turned around to follow it and started climbing the canyon wall. He was soon joined by the rest of them and they were now climbing up the wall and out of the canyon.

"Everyone! Off!"

Silverpaw, Ashpaw, and the two leaders leaped off of their Crawlers as the Feng leader purred to the Kota leader, "Yes! We made it across!"

As the Canyon Guide fell of his Canyon Crawler, Goldpaw threw a bag of food over the cliff, dropping food as it fell into the canyon. The Crawlers sprinted after it and climbed back into the canyon where they belonged.

**...**

After a few minutes of resting and the sun set over the now-red sky, the two leaders padded to the cliff and stared each other in the eyes. Goldpaw hoped the leaders would work together and leave the Great Canyon forever.

"You know, I never knew a Kota cat liked to get their paws dirty," the huge tabby leader of the Feng told the Kota leader, her eyes narrowing with interest.

"I agree with you. And _I_ never knew that you Feng cats worked like a team in a snap!" the white tabby Kota leader replied, bowing to his counterpart.

The Feng leader dipped her head to him in return and meowed, "Maybe there is something our packs have in common after all."

Goldpaw let out a breath of relief as he and his friends gazed at this new friendship. It seemed that their fourteen-year-old feud had finally ended, and every cat could be content now with how they cooperated.

To his disappointment, however, the Kota leader unsheathed his claws and added angrily, "But that doesn't mean we can't rewrite history! You unclean crooks stole our holy sphere for your own selfish desires!"

"Well, you menacing dictators wrongly sent Feng to prison for two long sad years to save your phony reputes!" the Feng leader snarled, unsheathing her claws as well.

As they prowled toward one another once more, the surrounding cats tensed up, eager to see how the fight would go. Goldpaw let out a hiss of frustration, smacked his forehead with his paw, and ran it down his face. _Is there any end to their constant bickering?_

But when all seemed lost, he suddenly had an idea.

"Wait, did you guys mention Kota and Feng? I know those two!" he told the leaders.

The Kota leader turned to face him, his green eyes rolling with irritation, and snorted, "I know, I know. We've all heard of that same old anecdote over and over."

"Hold on!" Goldpaw pleaded with the leaders, and they both sheathed their claws to Goldpaw's relief. "I'm telling you two, I really know _those_ two! I know my muzzle isn't gray yet and I look like an eleven-moon-old apprentice, but I'm in fact fourteen years old. I can tell you a lot."

He stood up on his hind legs and raised his voice for every cat alike to hear him out. He began, "There seems to be a lot of confusion about what happened. First of all, Kota and Feng weren't enemies; they were twin brothers, both black-&-white kittens! They were just three moons old, and they were just playing a game! The sacred sphere from the fable was just the ball. And the eastern and western gates were just the goal posts. Kotakit had the ball and was running toward the goal when he fell and fumbled it. Fengkit didn't steal the ball; he just picked it up and started running it back toward the other end. But he stepped out of bounds, so Midnight the badger put him in the penalty box, not for two long years, but for twenty minutes as a time-out.

"So you see?" he panted from the long story. "There wasn't any stealing and no putting anyone in prison. It was all just a game."

"Oh. So you're saying that the sacred sphere that 'Fengkit' was returning was just a ball?" the Feng leader asked him in amazement.

Goldpaw didn't say anything, but he nodded in reply. Then the pale gray tabby scout from the Kota pack piped up, "But what about our salvation rite? What does it have to do with this?"

"That's the name of the game: salvation. When a player got the ball from one goal to the other, everyone would howl, 'Salvation!'" The two leaders gazed at each other in awe as Goldpaw went on, "Don't get mad, but Fengkit was like a sloppy pig and Kotakit was a little bit like a jackass, that's true. But they respected each other's differences and honored each other to share the same playing field."

Feeling out of breath, Goldpaw began breathing a little before looking up to see how they would react. He expected (not hoped) that they would start fighting again and they would even kill each other, but he was wrong. There was new respect and honor in the leaders' amber and emerald eyes.

"You know what?" the huge female Feng leader mewed to the smaller Kota leader. "Let's forget the past altogether..."

"...and focus on the present!" the Kota leader agreed, nodding and dipping his head to her as she did the same thing.

Goldpaw and his friends looked up at the setting-sun sky and waited for the sick and old cats came back. They saw a recognizable white figure fly down, one they hadn't seen for around one-and-a-half sunrises.

Goldpaw rushed to Archie and rubbed his head against his forehead, purring, "Hey, Archie. How was your journey, boy?"

Archie replied with a hearty lick on his face, making the golden AirBender purr with satisfaction.

"We cannot thank you enough, Avatar Cat." The Kota leader's low rumble made Goldpaw face him with respect. "Without you, our tribes would kill each other and be crowfood for the Canyon Crawlers!"

"Eh, I try," Goldpaw muttered humbly as he rubbed the back of his head with his paw. But he was so covered with dragon saliva that the leader just gave a freaked out nod and started to slink away.

Just a few minutes later, both Kota and Feng cats were now so mingled together among themselves that Goldpaw imagined them now as not two, but ONE tribe of cats. They were all facing the forest as they prepared to leave the canyon for good and evade FireClan.

The Kota leader stood beside his new partner and comrade, the Feng leader, and told every tribe cat around them, "From now on, we shall travel as one as we head onward to BoulderClan. We shall all thank StarClan together, for we have united as one tribe!"

Every cat, including the three apprentices, cheered as the newly emerged tribe called the Yin-&-Yang Tribe moved forward into the forest. They were now chatting with one another as happily as they could, not snarling at one another like foxes against badgers. It seemed like they had been Clanmates for a really long time instead of just a few moments ago.

_This is how every Clan should be one day, _Goldpaw thought with relief.

He and Silverpaw felt something barge by them. All three Clan cats saw the canyon guide limp after the Yin-&-Yang tribe, wheezing, "I'm comin' with you! I quit this job! And I hate that damn canyon!"

"Good thing the problem's done!" Goldpaw purred to his friends as soon as the guide was gone. Then he started sniffing the air with his jaws open, drinking in the scent for food. "Now where's that rabbit-meat pie hiding?"

"Well, let's just say that was smart of you to think about Kotakit and Fengkit," Ashpaw spoke up, his pale blue eyes glittering with admiration for his AirClan friend.

Goldpaw looked up at him and purred with a smirk on his face, "You can call it that. OR you can call it lying!" As Ashpaw's and Silverpaw's eyes widened with shock and their jaws fell open, he added, "Yep! I made it all up to make them get along!"

The two WaterClan cats stared at him for a few more minutes before Ashpaw hissed with anger, but Silverpaw mewed with disbelief: "You did not!" Then she had a look of sly admiration on her pretty face as she purred teasingly, "You're such a lying dick, Goldpaw."

Goldpaw just purred and playfully tackled his friend to the ground. Ashpaw just shook his head, but he had no choice but to look on as the two younger cats rolled around on the ground, mewing happily in their play.

_To be continued..._

**...**

**AvatarCat11: This story may be the last story I MIGHT upload this year. Because in two more days, 2012 will be here.**

**Kyuubi: Do you think 2012 will be the end of the world?**

**AvatarCat11: Even if I do worry about it sometimes, I don't think the world will end at the end of 2012. Instead, I think it'll just be the end of one era and the beginning of a new one.**

**Kyuubi: While you figure that out, I'll say the review thing. (To the readers) Anyone who reviews this chapter will receive cookies with snowmen, reindeer, or trees on them. Flames will be used to burn Ozai's plans to the ground. And here's the preview for the next episode called The Hurricane.**

**Preview: When a hurricane arrives at a village Goldpaw and his friends come to, the storm whips up Goldpaw's memories of his past. In the meantime, after seeing a fight between Bearclaw and another warrior, Irontail tells this cat and others about Bearclaw's past.**

**AvatarCat11 and Kyuubi: See ya next time! And have a Happy New Year!**


	14. The Hurricane

**AvatarCat12: I'm sure you know that Katara and Holly are back from their vacation, and they're with me again today at the commentaries. Not only that, but someone had asked me to update my Pokémon Mystery Dungeon story as soon as possible. And I will soon.**

**Katara: How are your dogs doing?**

**AvatarCat12: The pups are doing great! And guess what? They're starting to eat normal dog food and drink some water!**

**Holly: Wow! Really? Doesn't it take them a few weeks to get used to it?**

**AvatarCat12: Yeah. And we'll have to wait for a few more weeks to give them new homes. But for now, I'll just say the summary and disclaimer.**

**Summary: ****When a hurricane arrives at a village Goldpaw and his friends come to, the storm whips up Goldpaw's memories of his past. In the meantime, after seeing a fight between Bearclaw and another warrior, Irontail tells this cat and others about Bearclaw's past.**

**The italics mean that it's from a dream.**

**Disclaimer: Bryke and Erin Hunter own Avatar: The Last AirBender and Warrior Cats. AvatarCat12 doesn't.**

**Updating Date: January 7, 2012**

**AvatarCat12, Katara, and Holly: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Hurricane_

_Goldpaw gave a happy smile and a happy tug on Archie's reins; the Asian Lung dragon replied with a grunt and flew higher into the air. The sky around him looked as if it was a dream, and it was a peculiar peach-colored tone. But it didn't matter to him; nothing could cheer him on like a good dream._

_The Avatar Cat felt a rush of air to his left and saw Ashpaw flying quite gracefully on Goldpaw's glider; the dark gray tom looked as if he was having lots of fun as he smiled at the Avatar Cat. Goldpaw gave a smile in return and felt another rush of air to his right. It was Silverpaw flying on top of a huge Tobias gliding next to Archie; she waved her tail joyfully to the AirBending cat and he gave a wave in return._

"_We need you, Goldpaw..." Silverpaw's voice echoed into his head even though she wasn't really speaking._

"_I need you guys too..." Goldpaw murmured back contently._

_He heard a sudden rumble ahead of him and he looked ahead in alarm because he saw what it was: a huge black storm cloud was gathering right ahead of them. Goldpaw turned to his friends and meowed, "Guys, be careful! We're flying into a-"_

_But they were gone._

_With fright growing inside him like mold on a log, Goldpaw looked from side to side as the thundercloud loomed nearer. Suddenly, he saw a glitter of stars and Goldenstripe was suddenly sitting right in front of him on top of Archie's head, his blue eyes filled with disappointment._

_"Goldenstripe..."_

"_Why did you leave us?" Goldenstripe rasped to him, his voice filled with disappointment._

"_I didn't mean to!" Goldpaw wailed, rushing toward him until he was in front of him. He was amazed at how much he had grown; he was already nearing his height to his mentor's height._

_He reached out with a fore paw to try and touch the center of his mentor's heart, but the golden tabby elder turned as gray as ash and was soon gone. As soon as he disintegrated, Goldpaw and Archie dived head-first into a massive storm cloud._

"_We need you..." Goldenstripe's voice echoed around him._

_While those two were still inside the cloud, lightning flashed across the sky with a bang. It was pouring rain and Goldpaw screeched in fright as he held on to Archie for his life. Both creatures plunged into the sea like their accident fourteen years ago. Goldpaw suddenly surrendered his hold on Archie's reins and began to sink slowly to the deepest part of the ocean..._

"_We need you, Goldpaw. We need you..." many voices, including Silverpaw and Goldenstripe, echoed into his head._

_And before his eyes, a vision of the FireClan leader twisted in flames appeared to be visible in the afterglow of a lightning strike. The giant warrior rose to his hind paws, unsheathed his claws, and brought them down..._

**...**

Goldpaw woke up from his sleep, yowling with fright and looking all around him. It was still night at their most current camp. His yowl startled Tobias, who woke up Silverpaw and Ashpaw by cuffing them on the heads while trying to fly away. Ashpaw was already up, muttering very groggily.

"Huh? What the hell was that? What's going on?" the dark gray tabby muttered, looking around with claws unsheathed. "Did we get captured by FireClan again?"

"No. Everything's okay, Ashpaw. I just had a nightmare," Goldpaw mewed; he felt embarrassed about waking up everyone during the night. "Just go back to sleep."

"Good. You don't need to tell me twice," Ashpaw replied groggily, falling back into his nest and snoring.

Goldpaw didn't go back to sleep in fear of having that nightmare again. Recently, he had been given nightmares that started out good at first, but then they would turn bad. So he walked over to the small pool of water close to him and began lapping at the cool taste.

He felt Silverpaw's muzzle touch his shoulder as she mewed, "Hey, Goldpaw, are you all right?"

Goldpaw looked up from drinking some water as he figured out what to say. So he lied, "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for your concern."

"But you seem to have many bad dreams since...well, I don't know when, but you seem to have a lot of them," Silverpaw told him, her blue eyes narrowing with concern, rubbing his shoulder with her tail.

"I just need some rest," Goldpaw meowed, padding away from her and lying back down into his nest in. "But again, thanks for your help."

Suddenly, Ashpaw sat right back up, his pale blue eyes fill with wonder and excitement as he yowled, "Hey, I had the strangest dream! You guys wanna hear it?"

But he stopped when he saw an annoyed look on his sister's face and fell back, muttering, "Okay, okay. I wasn't going to tell you anyways." And he and his sister had fallen fast asleep.

**...**

The next morning, Archie waited at the beach and yawned while he was ready for take-off. On his back, Silverpaw was packing some things into his saddle to get under way. Goldpaw was sitting on top of Archie's head and observing the area around them; when the dragon finished yawning, his owner pointed his muzzle to the heavens.

As for Ashpaw, he was off somewhere, probably hunting. Goldpaw was sure he would be back with fish like trout or tuna. The young golden tomcat sniffed the air; after having gotten a cold some time ago, his nose felt much better.

"Look at the sky up there, Archie!" he meowed to the white-furred dragon. "These skies are gonna be clear all day! We'll fly easily in this weather!"

He turned to see Silverpaw sticking her head into the food bag and came out with nothing. After poking it for a few seconds, she announced, "Well, right now, we'll have to fly easily to a market. We're out of food, but we'll hunt later."

"Guys, hold on!" Ashpaw had climbed on board and sat right in front of his younger sister. "I know what my dream told me! We can't go to the market today!"

"Why, what happened?" Silverpaw asked him, tilting her head to one side. Goldpaw padded over to the two WaterClan apprentices and sat next to them.

Ashpaw looked around him with his eyes bugged out with as he let out a slightly spooky voice, "Food eats cats!"

Goldpaw and Silverpaw didn't look very impressed with that, but Ashpaw went on while looking at Tobias, "And Tobias could talk! You said some very mean things, jackass!"

Tobias didn't reply, just stared at him and pecked the saddle beneath him in a typical hawk-like manner. But many animals could act like they want to; Goldpaw believed in that.

While this was going on, the dreadful dream had disappeared from his brain like water pouring over flames. There was nothing to worry about for the time being besides evading FireClan; for now, however, they would have to find something to eat.

**...**

Irontail looked up at the clear blue sky and saw numerous seagulls following the ship if food was dropped. Right now, they were feasting on fish that they got from the ocean, but Bearclaw wasn't eating; instead, he was surveying the area with a tense expression on his face.

Suddenly, he smelled some water from far away; he sniffed the air again and he realized that there was a storm that was to come soon. He lowered his flat muzzle and gave the horizon a distant glance.

"Bearclaw, there seems to be a hurricane coming toward us. And it's going to be a really big one!" Irontail called to his nephew.

Bearclaw sniffed the air and retorted, "What the hell are you talking about, Uncle? The weather's fine and there's not any cloud in sight! Are you out of your mind?"

"But the storm is coming from the right," Irontail protested. "May I suggest we alter our course and land in the southwest until the hurricane passes?"

"The Avatar Cat is heading north, so we'll do the same!" the dark brown tabby tom hissed, his good amber eye blazing.

Irontail stepped forward to meow, "But Bearclaw, think about the safety of the crew and your Clanmates."

Bearclaw whipped around and snarled angrily, "Why do I care? The crew's safety doesn't matter to me! You hear me?" he added harshly to a brown tabby-&-cream tom, whose golden eyes were hardened as the former closed up to his face. "What's more important than a single cat on this ship is finding the Avatar Cat! So there!"

Without another word, the FireClan tom stalked past him and went into the ship's cabin. Feeling rather frustrated at his nephew's harshness but unwilling to show it, Irontail turned to the brown-&-cream tabby tom and tried to soothe him gently.

"It's all right, Firflame," the fat gray tabby tom mewed gently. "He doesn't mean that."

As the brown warrior gave a sigh and looked down at the deck, Irontail glanced back at the cabin before glancing up at the sky. He knew that he would have to tell the other cats very soon, but now would not really be the time for that. Tensions have been running high lately, and he knew why.

**...**

Silverpaw sniffed the chickens while poking at their cages while Archie lounged around in the water. Goldpaw and Ashpaw were of doing whatever StarClan knew they were doing, and the chicken seller wasn't looking too happy. Instead, the old she-cat looked exasperated.

"It is good! I tell you again! It is perfect!" she barked.

Goldpaw and Ashpaw came up from behind the silver apprentice to see what was going on at this shop. Silverpaw saw that there was a duck in his jaws, ready to be eaten. Giving the chickens a questioning glance, she reached into the cage and poked one of them in the side, making the fowl squawk.

Silverpaw looked up and meowed, "I don't like it whenever it squawks so loudly."

The elder snapped, "Aiyaah! It means she carries eggs! You collect eggs when she lays them!"

"She's right, Silverpaw; when a chicken squawks like that, they're ready to lay eggs," Goldpaw added, standing right beside her.

"You know what?" Silverpaw interrupted, pulling her paw out of the cage and the chicken began relaxing. "I just found out we don't have any money left over. Sorry!"

The elder she-cat let out a growl, snatched the duck from Ashpaw's jaws, and gave him a quick nip on the hind leg to drive him away. Goldpaw and Silverpaw quickly followed him and the three cats were away from all the fuss. Ashpaw let out a yelp when the she-cat's teeth nipped his leg, but he seemed to know when to go.

As they stood there panting, Ashpaw growled, "Great! So we're out of money _and_ out of fresh-kill! So NOW what'll we do?"

Silverpaw nudged her brother by the shoulder with hers as she retorted, "Hey, smartass, you ever heard of a job? Well, go find one!"

But when she finished with that sentence, they heard some voices quarreling with no sound of claws slicing fur, thankfully. The three Clan cats peeped around the corner and saw what had been happening. Two elderly loners had been arguing about something that involved fish and a boat.

"There's a horrible storm looming over the horizon!" the black-&-brown she-cat begged her mate, who was a shaggy-pelted brown tom. "So we shouldn't go out! Leave the fish alone just until the storm is over!"

"Are you hare-brained?" the brown tom retorted, shaking his head and looking up toward the sky. "It's a beautiful day today; look around you! There ain't no clouds, no wind, no nothin'! So do me a favor and quit your damn naggin', okay?"

While the two elders argued, Goldpaw glanced over at his friends and asked them, "If this storm is all so bad, how about we go and find some shelter?"

"Shelter from what?" Ashpaw growled, also looking up at the clear sky. "That old tomcat's right! There's nothing happening in the sky right now!"

But they both fell silent when the old cats continued their argument.

"My bones tell me there's a typhoon coming here!" the she-cat rasped.

The tomcat scoffed and replied, "Well then, it'll be _your_ bones versus _my_ brain! See what I gotta cook up with!"

The she-cat shook her head angrily and snapped, "Well then! I sure hope that big brain of yours can find another cat or even a whale to help the boat into the harbor 'cause I ain't comin'!"

"Oh, I'll another feline who'll help me haul in all those fish! I'll pay him double the pay that I give ya!" the brown loner growled, turning away and padding off in the reverse direction.

Silverpaw felt Ashpaw rush past her and call, "I'll come with you!"

"Good! You're hired!" the brown tomcat praised him.

Ashpaw nodded back at his friends, who gave him looks of confusion and concern on their faces. It probably didn't too much to affect the dark gray tabby tom, for he turned around to give them an indignant look.

"What're you looking at me like _that_ for? You were the ones who told me to go find a job, and I just did! Besides, I'm gonna get paid double!"

"Double?" the brown loner asked Ashpaw in surprise, looking at him as if he was a feline zombie crawling slowly at him. "What the hell are you talking about? Who told you all that heap of fox-dung about me paying double?"

_Elders, _Silverpaw mused.

She shook her head as her brother followed the brown cat away from them and right to the water, where a boat was waiting for them. She hoped that those two would be okay, but she wished that they paid attention instead of rashly rushing out to the middle of the sea to catch a few fish. If not, well...she didn't want to think of that.

**...**

Irontail saw that he was right (though he hated to brag); the small FireClan ship was heading right through an ominous storm with the clouds looking very dark gray, almost as black as night. He and the other warriors had gathered right under a shaded area of the boat to see the storm go by.

As Bearclaw padded out from the cabin, Firflame turned and spoke to the dark brown tabby tom, "Huh! So Irontail was right after all! There really IS a storm coming!"

At that, he pointed his tail to the elderly fat gray tabby tom, who just shrugged

"It was just a lucky guess, that's all," Irontail replied modestly, dipping his head in respect and shuffling his front paws.

Bearclaw had heard the comment coming from the brown-&-cream tabby warrior and stood nose to nose with him; even though he was younger than Firflame, he was much bigger, thanks to his father's size. "You better learn some respect around here, Firflame, or I'll teach you it myself!"

As he padded away from the older warrior, Firflame's fur began to bristle and he began to growl while Irontail made waving motions with his tail to stop the arguing. But it didn't work because Firflame raced around the former FireClan warrior and stood cat to cat with Bearclaw. It seemed that he could no longer contain the contempt he felt toward Bearclaw.

"You filthy fox-hearted hypocrite!" Firflame spat directly in front of Bearclaw as the younger tom stepped away from him. "You wouldn't know about respect if it sat in your paws and bit you on the chin! I've seen the way you talk back to your warriors and to your respectful uncle! That shows you don't know anything about it at all! You don't care for any other cat; you only care about yourself! Then again, what would I expect from Darkstar's son?"

Bearclaw stopped his walking in mid step shortly into the Lieutenant's speech. Irontail could do nothing but sigh and smack his face with his fore paw, resigning himself to the brewing disaster.

By the end of the outburst, Bearclaw's brows were twitching with possible rage; he was clearly stung by the accusations hurled at him. He turned around and unsheathed his claws with Firflame following suit.

The gray tabby cat rose slowly to his paws and meowed calmly, "All right, that's enough."

But they didn't listen, for they rose onto their hind legs and started rubbing their front legs roughly against each other, indicating that the ritual of battle had begun. When they crossed front legs, the sound of steel on steel could be heard, and smoke curled around from where they met.

Irontail leaped in between them and tossed them apart from each other in neat movement. He was outraged that they were fighting among themselves.

"Enough is enough!" he spat, glaring at them. More gently, he added, "Listen, we have been out to sea for quite a while; it's natural to feel like this. Let's just have a dish of mouse stew and everyone will be okay."

The two tabby cats continued to glare at each other just for a moment longer. Then, to Irontail's relief, both turned away from each other and stalked away in opposite directions. But when Bearclaw passed his uncle, he gave him a hateful glare.

"Uncle, I can handle my own warriors all by myself!" he hissed. "I don't need you butting in!"

Irontail laid his tail on his nephew's shoulder to calm him down, but the dark brown tabby cat let out a snarl and pulled angrily away from him. His uncle had no choice but to give a small sigh when he padded away and stared out into the horizon.

The storm was getting so close and maybe so powerful that it may end up being a hurricane. But he felt there was surprise for them in the middle of the storm...

**...**

Archie splashed around in the water before finally settling down. Silverpaw gave him a pat on the head with her front paw and joined Goldpaw as they watched Ashpaw helping the old brown loner get prepared for the fishing trip. The black-&-brown she-cat was snapping at them like an angry goose.

She saw Goldpaw suddenly look up at the sky with a worried look on his face and she followed the golden apprentice's gaze. The clear blue sky was now black with storm clouds and the wind picked up a chilly breeze as if she were in the Southern WaterClan territory again. The silver she-cat sighed, hoping to find some real shelter soon.

"Hey, Ashpaw! Maybe this _is_ a bad idea!" Goldpaw called to his fellow Clan cat.

"When I said I'm gonna do the job, then I'm gonna do the job!" Ashpaw retorted as he tossed the comment over his back. "And StarClan forbid I stop just because of a couple of storm clouds."

"The white-arrowed kit has a lot more sense than you," the female loner piped up, staring with disapproval at the fishing boat. "If I were you, I'd listen to him and get away from the harbor for the day!"

As the brown loner dropped a box onto the boat, he looked up in surprise. His yellow eyes were widening as he was apparently thinking.

He padded to Goldpaw and Silverpaw, meowing with wonder, "You're the cat with the white arrows on his head and legs? Those are AirClan markings!" Then he meowed with shock, "Well, shoot the horse and slap me silly! You're the Avatar Cat, right?"

"Yep! He's the one and only!" Silverpaw purred, nudging her friend on the shoulder with hers as she showed her faith in him.

Sadly, to her dismay, the brown loner leaned in with anger flashing in his yellow eyes, hissing, "Don't you dare get too cocky about it, you little mouse-brain! The Avatar Cat had disappeared fourteen years ago. And he never came back to stop the War!" He pushed Goldpaw back roughly and added, "You're a curse on the world for turning your back onto it!"

Silverpaw couldn't believe it; there was a cat that wasn't happy to see Goldpaw! What was worse was that he was yelling at him for something he couldn't avoid.

"Don't yell at him!" she growled angrily as she shoved the older tomcat backwards. "Goldpaw would never turn his back on anyone who needs him!"

"Oh, yeah? You're willing to bet on that, huh, missy?" the tomcat hissed as he lashed his tail from side to side and he padded right back to them. "Well, if I'm dreaming, those fourteen long years of suffering and deaths must've been in my head!"

Silverpaw felt a growl rise in her throat and she turned to see if Goldpaw was okay, but the look on his face told her that he was not okay. As the old cat made this damning charge, a physical testament seemed to be connected to the sickening guilt welling up within the Avatar Cat.

She felt very upset for her friend, so she stepped between the two male cats and spat, "Goldpaw's the bravest Clan warrior I have ever known even before I met him! All the past two moons or so, he's done nothing but help cats and save the lives of many ever since my brother and I freed him from the White Stone! And you can't blame him for his disappearance! Right, Goldpaw?"

But she turned to see that he was backing up while Silverpaw was busy scolding the old brown loner for his awful words. When she was finished, he turned tail and fled, opening up his glider and taking off towards the distant mountains until he disappeared out of sight. Silverpaw looked to the sky in alarm, lifting her muzzle into the air.

"Goldpaw!"

But the old brown tom didn't make anything better; instead, he called out in a jeering voice filled with hate, "Yeah, you keep fleeing, coward! That's right! You're a curse to StarClan, that's what you are!"

Rage built up inside of Silverpaw's belly at this ruthless curse that the old brown cat had laid onto Goldpaw. She couldn't take this anymore. She turned to him angrily, slashed at his ear with her claws, and snarled, "You're a terrible old bastard!"

The loner didn't response, but he gave a grunt as Silverpaw shoved past him and climbed onto Archie. She needed to find Goldpaw very quick in this weather and to persuade him to not listen to anything that went against him.

"Yip yip!" she commanded, and Archie rose out of the water and shot toward the sky as fast as he could; he could probably pick up his owner's friend's distress.

When those two were gone, Ashpaw appeared out from the hold in the ship and glanced around in confusion. After a few seconds, he squeaked in surprise, "Hey! They just left me here! And they didn't even say good luck!"

"Your buddies ain't too friendly, huh?" the tomcat asked him.

"Tell me about it!" Ashpaw exclaimed. "Like, I remember this one time when we went hunting and-"

But the old cat just interrupted by shoving a box to him and muttering, "Whatever. I'm sure to listen REALLY soon. Just help me with this stuff being put down below deck. Then I MIGHT listen over a piece of fresh-kill."

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

The sky was now smoky black like true smoke as Archie sped around the face of the mountain with an exposed parapet and a stone flight of steps leading up to it from the seashore below in a hasty pace. Silverpaw let out one long calling yowl after another for Goldpaw to come back, but only lightning only answered her call.

_This isn't going to work. I gotta find shelter, _she decided.

But she couldn't find anywhere to shelter for now, but when she saw the lightning flash in the sky again, she could see a hole in the face of the giant rock. It had to be a cave and she could shelter in there until the storm passed by, but she had to be sure of something first. Archie landed for Silverpaw, and the she-cat took his reins and padded towards the hole.

Silverpaw stepped into the cave and shook the rainwater from her long silver coat while Archie rolled around until his fur was clean from the water. But she thought that she heard something, so she swiveled her ears to the sound and lifted her nose into the air. Finally, she saw a hunch of golden fur curled up into a ball and she heard one little sniff.

It was Goldpaw, and Silverpaw saw he was trying hard not to cry. But a single tear rolled down his cheek and his claws scraped the floor of the cave.

"I'm sorry for running away, Silverpaw," he mewed as soon as she approached.

Silverpaw sat down beside him and purred soothingly, "No need to worry, Goldpaw. That awful old son of a bitch didn't know what he was talking about."

Goldpaw sat up a little more and faced her, his dark gray eyes hiding the lie beneath their depths. "Don't blame him. He _did_ know what he was talking about."

"Huh?"

"Uh...you know what? I said too much," he quickly mewed, turning away from her and flopping curling up into a ball again.

Silverpaw tilted her head to one side and asked him, "Does this have anything to do with your dream?" When he didn't answer, she laid her muzzle onto his shoulder and whispered, "Please, Goldpaw. Tell me."

Goldpaw turned his head around and replied, "Okay, I will. But it's gonna be a long story."

Tobias swooped into the cave with a few mice in his talons and he sat beside Goldpaw, nudging him with his beak. Suddenly, the sound of a huge animal was heard from behind Goldpaw right at the cave entrance. But it was just Archie, who was licking Goldpaw with his long tongue and he dumped a few salmon from his back. The cave was now plugged up by the drenched Asian Lung Dragon.

"Okay, then. I'll find us some firewood and we'll get some fire in here," Silverpaw meowed, going to a nearby cave tree and snapping a twig off with her jaws. As Silverpaw leaped down from the tree and rubbed two stones together in her paws to make fire, Goldpaw launched into his story while he grabbed a mouse and began to eat:

"I never forgot the day when the senior warriors told me I was the Avatar Cat. I was five moons old when that happened. I was just playing with some of the other kits near the nursery, teaching them to summon the Air Paws..." He sighed and went on.

"A couple of kits were tumbling around the bramble branches of a nursery as I watched on with amusement. I still hadn't got my arrow stripes yet; you'd have to be an AirBending master to get your arrow stripes. As an older apprentice with long ears named Longpaw gave a yowl for the youngsters to pay attention, I gave a nod and raised his tail for silence.

"'Everyone listen up!' I meowed to the crowd of the kits. 'I'm gonna teach you how to make a set of gliding Air Paws! First, you form four small balls of air. And second, you get into them quick before they disappear.'

"At this, I made four little balls of air and stepped into them very quickly. I purred at the kits' amazement and began to move at a tremendous speed across the square. After that, I went in an upside down loop in a nearby archway under a walking bridge before scaling up a wall and up a birch tree on the bridge, coming back to the plaza by a nearby set of stairs. I was yowling with cheer while I traveled; several warriors and queens had to get out of the way.

"When I landed, Longpaw whipped out four little balls of air and mewed, 'Here we go!'

"'Go on! Go in them!' I squeaked excitedly.

"The tabby tom nervously set one paw into one air ball, but he slipped onto a piece of ice and wobbled a little bit and yowled with surprise before falling to the ground onto his bottom. When I nudged him back to his paws, I decided to give him an encouraging smile."

Silverpaw purred. "That was nice of you, Goldpaw. That's what makes you a good cat."

Goldpaw blushed as he took another bite of the mouse he gave her. He smiled distantly at her before he went on.

"'That was a good try, Longpaw!' I mewed happily. 'But you have to act as if you're stepping into a stream.'

"'Okay,' Longpaw mewed, shaking the snow from his pelt. 'But great StarClan, that's so hard!'

"A little brown-&-white kit of two moons old came up to me, pounced on his twitching tail, and asked, "'Where'd that trick come from?'

"I leaped away before meowing proudly, 'I invented it!'

"'Cool!' the kit squealed before jumping up and down with excitement.

"But as the little kits bounced around me, a yowl brought their romping around to a halt. Right away, I recognized the golden tabby cat with blue eyes: Goldenstripe, who was almost ready to retire as an elder.

"There were four other cats around him: one was dark golden tabby, the second was gray-&-cream, the third was black-&-white, and the fourth was ginger tabby. They each had a white arrow stripe running from their head to their tails and on their legs and paws.

"'Goldkit, we would like to say something to you. Please come alone,' Goldenstripe told me as he kinked his tail over at me."

Silverpaw gaped at him. "Wow. What'd you do?"

"I'm getting there," Goldpaw mewed. "I nodded to them and padded after the departing cats, a look of trepidation on his face while the other kits looked at me oddly. I just gave them a worried glance, but I tucked my tail between my hind legs and slunk away, unable to hide my anxiety as fear-scent came off from me.

"Soon enough, we reached the area where five of the greatest warriors rested at.I couldn't help but gaze at the five most senior AirClan warriors with surprise as they sat in a serene way on five evenly spaced stools. The gray-&-cream tabby tom's stool rested under an elaborate sunshade; he was Galestar, the leader of AirClan. Goldenstripe was the second cat from the left.

I kneeled down in front of them, my head down. 'So how long did you know I was the one?'

"'We've known for six moons of your life you were the new Avatar Cat,' a ginger tabby tom called Carrotstem told me. 'I'm sure you'll remember these four things.'

"At that, he handed me a rolled-up scroll with AirBending. It landed at my paws, and it opened on its own accord. Inside were four toys that kits would love to get their paws on. On the left was a little toy dolphin that did loops when put in water; the second one from the left was a propeller toy that spun in the air like eagles; the third one from the left was a little toy gorilla; the fourth and final toy was the rattle from a rattlesnake with yellow and red swirls around its rings.

"I rushed to the toy gorilla and squealed with amazement, 'Hey, those are my favorite toys! I've had them since I was three quarter-moons old!' I left the gorilla toy and leaped for my favorite one, the propelling toy, which looked like four hardened feathers glued together.

"Carrotstem meowed, 'Yes, indeed. Young AirClan kit, you chose all four toys from thousands that would be called a kit's paradise. And the toys you picked out yourself are the four Avatar Cat relics. These same items belonged to other Avatar Cats before you...your own former lives.'

"'Well, I chose them because they were fun!' I replied, dropping the rattle and sitting down. I smiled, picked up the propeller toy, and pulled the cord on it, making the propeller spin into the air. It spun through the air, and I watched as it flew around the five elderly cats.

"'You chose them because they feel familiar to you,' the ginger tabby replied, nodding again.

"Goldenstripe gave his fellow warrior a nod before telling me, 'Any other Avatar Cat would be told of their identity the day or night they became a warrior. But your day is very special since dark times are gathering on a dark breeze.'

"Galestar lowered his head, leaped down from his stool, and touched my forehead with his muzzle as he told him, 'I believe a Great War is coming to our world, so it is important that you become an apprentice today. Goldkit, until the day you finally become a warrior, you will be Goldpaw. Goldenstripe shall be your mentor, and he shall pass on all that he knows to you.'

"'We need you, Goldpaw,' Goldenstripe murmured to his new apprentice as the other cats called out, 'Goldpaw! Goldpaw! Goldpaw!'

"Feeling my new responsibility crushing me as if I was carrying a badger on my pelt, I lowered his head and gazed down at the ground. Suddenly, the normal life I thought I knew was gone, gone as if blown away by the wind that surrounded the mountain where I lived."

Goldpaw still kept his head lowered like that while Silverpaw licked his ear in a comforting way with concern and sympathy in her eyes. He had become an apprentice at five moons old instead of six like any other kit because of the approaching Great War.

He didn't like to tell Silverpaw about this, but he trusted her fully and he could always count on her to confide his secret to.

**...**

Irontail yawned and stretched his forelegs out as the ship navigated its way through the storm. It was high time that he went to bed since he had watched out for the storm recently; now that it was raining very hard, there was no more need to look out for it.

As he padded down the hallway, he could hear murmuring and he peeked in to see several cats surrounding a fire and talking in hushed voices. A pale brown tabby tom nudged Firflame on the shoulder with his and was whispering to him.

"Are you okay? You're not mad, are you?" the pale tabby asked him.

"I'm not mad; I'm furious!" Firflame spat, his face bathed in the firelight and his tail lashing to and fro to make his point. "I'm just so sick of following what he has to say all the time! And I'm sick of following that damn Avatar Cat! Who does that emo bastard think he is?"

"Do you really want to know, youngster?" Irontail meowed as he padded into the room. The time to tell the warriors about his nephew's past has to come out. It was like a hedgehog coming out of hiding in a ball.

Immediately, all the warriors let out meows of surprise and they fluffed down their fur, trying to look respectful and innocent. Firflame, however, looked very ashamed of himself.

The younger warrior mewed, "Irontail! I didn't see you there. We were just-"

However, Irontail waved the apology away dismissively and kindly with a flick of his tail. "Don't worry; it's all right. Do you youngsters mind if I join you?"

"Not at all, sir," Firflame replied, scooting over to sit near the pale brown tabby tom and letting Irontail move right next to him. A dark gray tom handed him a mouse to eat, and he accepted it gratefully.

After a few bites of the mouse and grooming his fur, Irontail sat up and began thinking carefully and wistfully. After a few minutes, he spoke up: "Please, my fellow FireClan warriors, try and understand that my nephew is a complicated and mysterious cat. He does not need more pain than the pain that he suffered a year and a half ago..." He sighed and went on.

"I heard my nephew yowling for someone to let him in and wondered what he was up to this time. I just wanted to keep him out of trouble; after all, I was his mentor. So I padded down the hallway of the FireClan palace and saw him trying to leap over a bigger ginger cat. His resolve appeared to lead him to be blocked and not allowed entry.

"'Young Bearpaw, what in the name of StarClan is going on?' I scolded him calmly.

"Bearpaw turned to face me. He looked very near to becoming a warrior and his golden eyes were flashing with frustration. There wasn't going to be any cat that could claw at his face without being knocked out first.

"'I wanna go hear what's going on, but the older warrior won't let me in!' Bearpaw hissed, his voice breaking slightly at the end.

"_He is clearly disappointed,_ I thought in an understanding way."

Firflame nodded. "I'll bet. I'd be disappointed if _I_ wasn't allowed in myself."

Irontail nodded back at him before going on.

"I led him a short distance away from the warriors. I let him sit down and meowed, 'You're not going to miss anything, trust me. From experience, all the meetings I go to are very boring.'

"Bearpaw sat up quickly and protested with rising hope, 'But if I become the leader of FireClan one day, I should take the opportunity to learn about the other Clans as soon as I can! Don't you think so, Uncle Irontail?'

"His golden eyes were pleading and full of hope. I chuckled a little bit to myself; my nephew always seemed to desire for additional knowledge. Sometimes, it could lead a kit into a fox's den while it could help a warrior catch prey in other times.

"'Very well, Bearpaw,' I finally meowed, touching his ear with my nose in a comforting way. 'But you must promise to not speak unless you are spoken to. I'm reminding you because the older cats appear to be a little sensitive in their prime, did you know that?'

"'Thank you!' Bearpaw squeaked as he touched noses with me and skipped on ahead.

"When the two warriors prepared to repel him again, I halted them by telling them that Bearpaw was allowed into the meeting as long as he behaved himself. So they stepped aside and let the both of us into the meeting room.

"Soon, all the senior warriors, Bearpaw and I included, have gathered around in a temple-like assembly room, with a throne on a podium wreathed in a fearsome red fire. The back wall was occupied by a huge elaborately carved scarlet statue of a cat. The meeting was in session as we were gathered around a map of the extended territory on the EarthClan continent that decorated the ground.

"And my brother, Darkstar himself, was sitting on his throne. He was surrounded by so much black-&-purple aura that it was hard to tell what his pelt color was. But I know.

"One of the warriors, a black-&-gray tom on the left, was standing to address the other cats and our leader. 'EarthClan's defenses are concentrated over there like the boulders they are. It is a very dangerous platoon of their strongest warriors and fiercest EarthBenders, so we must make do with the forty-first wall.'

"'But there are new recruits over at that forty-first division!' an old white tomcat hissed. 'How could you expect young warriors and Benders to defeat such a strong army?'

"'I don't intend on that," the black-&-gray tom sneered with a voice as cold as ice. 'We'll just use them as distractions from the front while we attack the enemy from the back. I think that's the best bait to use in an army: fresh meat!'

"I hissed silently to myself at those words. This cat was implying to kill off the young warriors while they waited from the back. This was what happened to my dear son, Wolfcloud. I let out a moan of remembrance at the death of my only kit.

"Unfortunately, Bearpaw wasn't as quiet as I. He leaped up quickly to his paws, leaped at the black-&-gray warrior, knocked him to the ground, and slashed at his muzzle. 'There's no way you'll sacrifice an entire platoon like this! These warrior cats are honorable and kind, and they respect and love their Clan! How could you hand them over and betray them like this?'

"_He should not have said that,_ I heard this voice in my head as the other cats turned to glare at Bearpaw, clearly disapproving what he said. One cat even grabbed him by the scruff and tossed him away."

Irontail gave a deep sigh before meowing, "Bearclaw was right when he said what he said. But he also broke his promise to never speak out of term. So he had to face dire and endless costs." He lowered his head in sadness about this awful memory.

**...**

"So you weren't happy about being the Avatar Cat?" Silverpaw exclaimed as she crunched a thrush's bone between her teeth. "I thought you'd be excited about this great power!"

Goldpaw looked around at her before replying, "The truth was...I didn't really know how to feel about this. But when the day I found out passed, my normal life as an apprentice was changed forever..." He shivered before going back into his story.

"I looked out at the kits having fun playing on their newly created Air Paws. Being the Avatar Cat made me a bit moodier since the past moon, even moodier than a certain ancient WindClan warrior named Crowfeather. I saw that the plaza was full of young AirBending kittens riding on their Air Paws, laughing and having fun.

"Adopting a happy mood, I padded to them and praised them, "Great work, you guys! I'm glad to see you practice hard!"

"'Thanks!' a little ginger kitten squeaked gleefully 'Guess what? We made up a game about Air Paws! It's fun!'

"'Awesome!' I mewed, creating four small balls of air and was about to step into them, but I saw their reactions. They were quickly stepping out of their balls of air, and they had a look of mixed confusion and alarm on their faces.

"Fearing the worst, I got away from the balls of air and protested in dismay, 'What's going on, you guys?'

"'Since you're the Avatar Cat now, it'll be unfair to whatever team you're on,' Longpaw told me. His yellow eyes were unhappy but there was no hint of hostility in the way he spoke.

"'Come on! I haven't changed! ...except I've been an apprentice for a moon!' I insisted, trying to smile but failing to do so. "Does this mean I can't play with you anymore?"

Longpaw nodded sadly and replied, "I'm afraid so. We're very sorry, Goldpaw."

"He nudged me on the shoulder with his muzzle in a way of apology, although I could tell he was also warning me to get away from them. The young brown-&-white kit from before ran over and wrapped his forelegs around my tail.

"'Yeah, we're sorry!' he squeaked.

"I padded away from them while wrenching my tail out of reach, muttering, 'It's okay. I didn't want to play, anyways.'

The kits and Longpaw looked upon me as I slunk away from them, tail between my legs and my ears flattened with despair. They had sadness in their eyes, but it didn't last for too long.

"'It's a shame Goldpaw can't play,' Longpaw was saying. 'But we have to get a new player onto their team. Let's have Dirtpaw onto our team! What do you guys say?'

"I turned to see a very dirty-looking tom prowl to them; his pelt was so dirty it was hard to tell what his fur color was. Flies were surrounding him, and he made a little noise coming from his rear. He was also drooling.

"But I thought he needed to be check for fleas as I padded away from my friends. And maybe that was for the last time."

He saw that Silverpaw looked sympathetic, but she paused to giggle, "That Dirtpaw had fleas?"

Goldpaw shrugged. "It kinda looked like he did." He cleared his throat and went on.

"As me and Goldenstripe played Pai Sho in the elders' den later on, I still felt sad, distracted, and alone. Of course Goldenstripe would always look out for me, but I still felt excluded after what my friends told me. I officially had no friends left except for Goldenstripe and Archie.

"'Interesting move you made,' Goldenstripe remarked as I made my move.

"I looked up at him and squeaked as a set of drapes fell over my eyes. But when I removed them, I saw what Goldenstripe did: he used AirBending to blow some wind up to the drapes hanging from the ceiling and made it fall over me. When I was distracted, he switched our sides of the board around.

"I was amused while I cuffed my mentor kindly on the ear and we began laughing together. The worries of my friends leaving me had disappeared like a cobweb in the breeze."

"Aww," Silverpaw purred. "It's sweet that you two hung out a lot."

Goldpaw replied, "Yeah, but there was something else that made things feel bad.

"Suddenly, the door opened and Carrotstem came in, growling, 'Seriously, Goldenstripe? You're playing games with the Avatar Cat when he should be training?'

"'But he has trained hard today, Carrotstem!' Goldenstripe protested.

"But Carrotstem didn't pay attention; instead, he went on, 'Time is running short if you didn't notice! Now come, Avatar Cat. We must train you to complete very high level techniques.'

"He began to pad out of the room and I sadly began to follow him, the worrying back in my mind. But just before we got to the door, Goldenstripe had blocked the way and waved his tail so that he was between me and Carrotstem.

"He mewed, 'I'm afraid not, Carrotstem. As long as I am his mentor and training him, _I_ shall decide whether or not to train him, and I shall decide whether or not to beat his tail in Pai Sho!'

"'Huh!' was all Carrotstem growled before he stalked away. Goldenstripe and I turned to one another and gave each other a smile. Things were great when he was my mentor."

_**...**_

Irontail gave a sigh, ready to get the worst of it off his chest, and he went on, "After Bearclaw spoke out of term in the meeting room, Darkstar was very angry at his elder son. He told him that when Bearclaw attacked the senior warrior, this was considered to be complete disrespect. And every cat in FireClan, from the volcanoes to the sun-drown-place, knew what had to be done."

"A Fire Meeting. An _Agni Kai_," Firflame rasped with horror as the other warriors shuddered.

"Yes," Irontail added as he nodded before going on.

"Bearclaw had looked down upon the old general he had insulted and declared that he was not scared of him. But he had made a fatal mistake. When he padded forward to battle his opponent, he was surprised to see it was not the warrior he insulted. Of course Bearclaw spoke out against a senior warrior's plan, but since he did just that in Darkstar's war room, it was Darkstar who he had unwisely disrespected.

"Bearclaw would have to fight his own father."

**...**

Goldpaw threw away the mouse bone he was chewing on, not feeling hungry anymore. He went on, "And just when I thought that things would turn out to be okay, things got worse." Preparing himself for the worst, he dove deep into the story.

"I was busy hunting when I heard arguing voice beneath the trees I was hunting in. Being a young cat, I was very curious about all of this. So I climbed down a few branches before hearing much more of the voices.

"'Goldpaw needs some fun and freedom! He needs to live like a normal Clan cat!' I could hear Goldenstripe yowl.

"Climbing down some more, I could clearly see them. The four elderly cats and Galestar were in the leader's den when they called the meeting. Carrotstem probably told Galestar about his fellow warrior's lack of cooperation.

"'But you can't protect him from his destiny!" Carrotstem snarled, his lips peeled back to reveal his teeth.

"Galestar raised his tail for silence and turned to Goldenstripe. 'I understand as much as you do, and I know what you want for him is good for him. But Carrotstem is right. You're letting your care for Goldpaw obscure the judgment you had when I had you as my apprentice.'

"Goldenstripe bowed his head and replied, 'But I want what's best for _him_, not _me_.'

"'Yes, but we also want what's best for all four Clans,' Galestar retorted. He looked down for a moment as if thinking, then he looked up and declared, "Goldenstripe, you shall no longer be Goldpaw's mentor, and the two of you must be separated. The young Avatar Cat will be sent away to the Eastern AirClan territory and complete his training. You must never train him ever again.'

"As Goldenstripe bowed with defeat and agreed, I watched on from the treetops with a look of horror and distraught. This was the worst day of his life in my life.

"I was going to be separate from my mentor forever."

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Silverpaw gasped about the awful truth that spilled out of Goldpaw's mouth like a tumbling river of ice as the rain continued to pour from the sky outside. In a normal Clan, cats had to stay loyal to their Clan, but they were allowed to think for themselves; it looked like Goldpaw's Clan was a bit stricter than even the dark-hearted ShadowClan!

So she padded to him and rested her muzzle onto his head, murmuring, "I can't believe them. That's so awful, Goldpaw. I don't know what \to say."

The silver WaterClan apprentice tried to lick his cheek, but Goldpaw leaped backward, his dark gray eyes blazing with pain and anger behind the tears. His golden fur was glowing ginger in the firelight and he was snarling, "How the hell could AirClan do this to me? How could StarClan let them do it? They took away everything I knew and loved! Something that made me be _me_!"

Suddenly, the arrow stripes on his body, legs, paws, and forehead began to glow as his Avatar Cat power began to activate. They were glowing, and the energy shell from the Southern AirClan camp was beginning to form around him as well.

"Whoa, watch it!" Silverpaw hissed as hot cinders sprung up from the fire from the blustery wind. "There's hot cinders here!"

As soon as he heard this, he saw the cinders swirl around her, pulling himself out of the Avatar Cat spirit power. Not only did that happen, but the arrows on his body faded away until they were plain white once again.

"I'm sorry I got so mad toward you. I just wish StarClan never made me the Avatar Cat," he sighed as he lay back down.

Silverpaw pressed her pelt soothingly to his as she responded, "No need to worry, Goldpaw. You have a right to be angry at being sent away."

Goldpaw let out a sigh. It seemed that it was finally to tell the silver she-cat the entire truth. Why he ran away. Why he ended up in WaterClan territory. He sat back up, stared her right in the eye with a guilty lump in his throat, and murmured, "I have a confession to make. I wasn't sent away after all."

He gave a sigh and began this part. The part when his life changed for good.

_Fatshe leso lea halalela_

_Fatshe leso lea halalela_

"I watched from my lonely den on the tallest mountain as I watched the queens gather their kits into the nursery. I would've given anything to make friends again with the cats I grew up with, but every time I tried to leave, Carrotstem would always herd me back in. I knew the Warrior Code said that a warrior must be loyal to their Clan, but I didn't want to feel loyal anymore. I wanted to be free."

_Shadowland_

_The leaves have fallen_

_This shadowed land_

_This was my home_

_The river's dry_

_The ground has broken_

_So I must go_

_Now I must go_

"I was just confused and upset about all of this mess. I didn't know what else to do, so I ran away from my Clan. I was never going to go back unless they apologized."

"After I wrote a letter in a scroll, I looked to the sky where StarClan was gathering, murmured a prayer of guidance, and leaped out of the window with Archie behind me. I never looked back.

_And where the journey may lead me_

_Let this prayer be my guide_

_I cannot stay here, my family_

_But I'll remember my pride..._

_..._

_**(Moons ago)**_

_At moonhigh, clouds had already covered the moon as Goldenstripe padded into his apprentice's den. He saw a lump of blankets in Goldpaw's nest and padded to it._

"_Don't worry, Goldpaw," the old cat murmured, poking it gently. "It's only me. I will not let the other warriors separate us."_

_But when he got near, he smelled rabbit and lifted the covers with a yowl of dismay. There was instead the dead rabbit he gave to Goldpaw, hoping that he would feel hungry. When he was separated from his parents before he finished his suckling period as a kit, he was always hungry. But what worried him the most was that there was a scroll next to the piece of wasted fresh-kill._

_Goldenstripe carefully opened the scroll and gasped with shock. It read:_

Dear Goldenstripe:

If you're reading this, it means I have left AirClan territory. I have no intention of coming back for quite a while.

I can't stand being the Avatar Cat, and I'm sick of all the training. I wish I wasn't an AirClan cat!

Sorry if I offended you. But I'm not returning. Do not tell anyone about this please. I'm begging you!

Good-bye, for now.

Your loving apprentice, Goldpaw.

_Goldenstripe's blue eyes widened with concern and sadness; it was all because Carrotstem and his warriors had trained him too hard and wanted to separate mentor and apprentice forever. He drew in an intake of breath and looked out the window to see that lightning was flashing not too far away. Wherever his apprentice was, Goldenstripe hoped that he was all right._

StarClan, watch over him. Even though he may be out there in the world, he shall never be alone.

_Pride land (I have no choice)_

_My land (I will find my way)_

_Tear-stained (Lea Halalela)_

_Dry Land_

_Take this (Take this prayer)_

_With you (What lies out there)_

_Fatshe leso (Lea Halalela)_

_**...**_

"I never saw him ever after that."

Goldpaw stretched out beside the fire in misery as Silverpaw lied down beside him, warming him with her long fur. Suddenly recalling the encasement of him and Archie, a fresh memory of Silverpaw resurfaced inside him as he remembered looking into her beautiful eyes.

"And the last thing I expected and sort of hoped, I woke up leaning against your pelt when you freed me from the White Stone. I was also looking through you eyes."

"You ran away?" Silverpaw asked him with quiet surprise as he stared vacantly into the fire, guilt still rumbling in his belly; he didn't want to tell any more of the story. Thinking about his Clan made him feel sick.

But there was one more thing he told her: "And that's when FireClan came to my Clan and killed every cat there. My Clan needed me and I wasn't there to help. I broke the Warrior Code."

Silverpaw could tell her AirClan friend was deeply upset by thinking about this. So she began to meow, "Listen. You don't know what-"

"And all four warrior Clans needed my help and I refused!"

"Goldpaw-"

But Goldpaw wasn't listening anymore; instead, he stalked out into the rain and wailed, "That old cat was right! I turned my back on the world! I'm a curse to StarClan! I wish I was never born!"

This was enough.

"Dammit, Goldpaw, that's enough!" Silverpaw growled, grasping his tail between her jaws and pulling him back into the cave. He laid back down next to the fire and laid his forepaws over his eyes, moaning with pain and despair.

In a gentler voice, Silverpaw added, "Look, sorry I snapped at you, but you're being too hard on yourself. I've thought of this while I heard your story. Even if you did leave your Clan, I think you were destined to leave them. I mean, if you stayed, FireClan would've killed you alongside the other AirClan cats."

"You don't know that," Goldpaw whimpered, but he took his paws off his eyes and looked at her.

"Actually, I don't _think_ you're destined to be here; I KNOW you are," Silverpaw back-tracked while handing him another mouse to eat. "I mean, the world needs you right now even if you left the old one behind. You wanna know why? It's because you're the one who gives other cats hope, just like the sun on the surface of the water."

Now some sense began to creep into his heart like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon. What Silverpaw said was true; everywhere Goldpaw went, he always helped every cat out and they always appreciated his help.

_How could I have ever doubted her?_

Tobias chirped and landed onto his master's head, dropped a mouse into his paws, and cawed again. Giving Silverpaw a flick on the ear with his tail for thanks, Goldpaw finally settled down and began eating his fourth piece of fresh-kill.

**...**

"When Bearclaw saw he had to fight against his own father," Irontail continued his tale to the FireClan warrior cats, "he had tried to beg for mercy and forgiveness..." He cleared his throat and went on, feeling prepared to tell the worst.

"Every FireClan cat was already in the audience stands when Bearpaw arrived into the four-sided stadium with a large crowd on either side of it. He dropped his traditional red cape to the floor, exposing a rough muscular build just like his father. But as he padded forward to meet his foe, he recognized who he saw before him and froze on the spot in horror. It was his father.

"My heart wrenched with compassion and sorrow as Bearpaw lowered his head and cried out to him, 'Father, please listen! I'm sorry! I was only concerned for what was best for FireClan! I'm sorry!'

"'You _will_ fight for your honor, Bearpaw,' Darkstar growled coldly as he stepped forward, still silhouetted against the fires burning around the arena and by his black-&-purple aura. His body looked a little like Bearpaw's, but he was built massively like a certain notorious ThunderClan ancestor; I'm sure you all know who that is.

"'Father, I meant no disrespect!' Bearpaw pleaded, looking shocked as he lowered himself to the ground even more. Tears were running down his face, his thick fur was bristling, and his amber eyes were wide with horror. 'Please! I'm your son, your own flesh and blood! Does that mean anything?'

But Darkstar didn't pay attention. Instead, he leaped forward, shoved him backward, leaped back, and snarled, 'I said for you to _fight_! Stop your crying and fight like a warrior!'

Bearpaw looked up at his father and whispered, 'No. I won't fight you, Father.'

"'Suffering is your mentor, and you _will_ learn respect!' Darkstar roared.

"He started prowling forward until he stopped right in front of his kit. He reared up onto his hind legs, his long fearsome claws unsheathing and glinting in the sunset. Flames surrounded them and he raised one of his paws into the air, ready to strike his son.

"Many cats watching this fearsome battle were generals from the war council. The three cats in the front seats were a grinning Thornflare (who was just a plain warrior), me (looking concerned for Bearpaw), and a cruel looking black-pelted golden-eyed she-cat who was clearly hoping for the worst to happen to Bearpaw.

"If you don't know who what was, that was Frostpaw, Bearpaw's sister from the same litter and Darkstar's apprentice. She unsheathed her claws in anticipation of the disgrace her brother was undergoing.

"I couldn't bear the pain anymore, so I closed my eyes, hoping to not see the horror. I tried to not look, but the pain was too unbearable, so I looked and was horrified by what I saw and heard. But I only turned around when I heard Bearpaw's screech of pain.

"I opened my eyes and a horrifying sight was seen in front of him. Darkstar had lashed his claws out at poor Bearpaw, caught him on the left side of his face, and sliced through it with no mercy. After that, he knocked him to the ground and started biting and clawing him everywhere.

"I arrived just in time for no extra damage to be done, knocking Darkstar out of the way and bent low to Bearpaw. He was bleeding everywhere, but the worst wound was on his face; a jagged bloody burn scar raced like lightning across the left side of his face, causing that eye to not see very well. He's had that scar ever since."

Irontail paused, unable to go on. This was indeed a terrible memory for him, but it was worse for his nephew.

"I didn't know that," Firflame murmured, looking ashamed about their earlier argument. "I used to think either a bear got to him or he fell into some lava."

"No. It was no accident," Irontail corrected him while his heart wrenched after finally revealing the memory. "After the fight was stopped, Darkstar declared that, after his son got his warrior name, Bearclaw was a shame to FireClan history by not fighting back and refusing to do so. As a punishment, he was exiled and sent to find the Avatar Cat...a rather impossible task. The only way to return with honor was to capture the Avatar Cat. Well, I decided to tag along with him."

Firflame licked his paw and smoothed it over his tail. "Damn. So that's why he's obsessed with this mission. He wants to catch that Avatar Cat so that things could go back to normal."

Irontail sat up from staring into the fire and meowed, "I'm afraid not, Firflame. Though half of what you said is correct, things will never be the same. But what's important in Bearclaw's life is that the Avatar Cat gives him hope."

**...**

Bearclaw let out a sigh as he lied down on his nest and stared into his paws. He could remember yelling at Firflame like that, but he didn't really mean to do that; he was just angry and needed to let his anger loos. But he did that by yelling at a trusted warrior.

_How could I try to risk their lives like this?_

He saw a vision of two kits romping around in some tall grass while their father joined in and tumbled around with them. He could also remember himself sitting as a kit sitting beside his uncle and another kit. This kit had a flat face, dark gray fur, and warm amber eyes just like Irontail. As for Bearclaw himself, he was smiling as he gazed out toward the ocean, his face completely healthy with no burn scar and a big smile on his face.

_But it's gone now..._

Suddenly, a flash of lightning and the sound of vicious thunder brought Bearclaw sitting up and looking out the window in fear. The storm outside had gotten worse, for they had sailed through the eye of the storm.

**...**

Feeling better after talking about his past, Goldpaw decided to have some warrior training with Silverpaw. They weren't doing anything really bad; they were just giving each other some friendly paw swipes and the leap-and-hold technique, a useful technique used for a smaller cat to get on top of a bigger cat.

Goldpaw and Silverpaw were practicing some paw swipes when they heard a wail of distress. They looked up and saw the old black-&-brown she-cat from earlier limp to the entrance of the cave.

"Please help us!" she wailed, collapsing into the cave as the storm raged outside.

Silverpaw rushed over to the she-cat and murmured, "It's all right now. You're safe with us." She began licking the elder's fur to get her relaxed.

But the elder seemed to be far from relaxed; in fact, she looked very terrified and worried. She got up from the floor and wailed, "But my mate and your friend aren't!"

"Wait, what?" Silverpaw asked her, her face etched with fear for her lost littermate. "Where'd Ashpaw go?"

"They haven't come back from their fishing expedition!" the she-cat moaned as Goldpaw tried in vain to give her a piece of fish, which she shoved away. "This storm's now a hurricane, and they should've come back before it hit! They're out at sea and I can't get to them!"

Goldpaw got up, giving up on giving the elder a fish and gave her a thrush instead. Inside, he felt his blood chill at having to go out into a storm; he could remember what happened when he got out into a storm as bad as this. But there was no other way to help Ashpaw and the old loner.

"I'll go," he mewed in a resolute tone. "I'll find them."

"And I'll come with you," Silverpaw added when she padded next to him.

"Well, I'm staying here!" the old she-cat snapped.

"We won't force you to come, you know. And we'll come back very soon; I promise," Goldpaw added kindly.

The old she-cat nodded before looking the other way. The two Clan apprentices raced out of the cave, hopped onto Archie, and flew off into the eye of the storm. They were now ready to save Ashpaw and the old shaggy brown loner.

**...**

Bearclaw and Firflame sank their claws into the boards as both cats tried to stay on their paws. The ship was rocking back and forth very dangerously, and it seemed as if it were going to sink into the waves. To add insult to injury, seawater always sprayed over the two warriors and the deck for around the twentieth time.

"Where did the lightning hit?" Bearclaw asked firmly yet not harshly.

Firflame replied, "I...I'm not sure, Bearclaw!"

"Look up there!"

Irontail's yowl brought both warriors to where the gray tabby elder was pointing to. Dangling for his life on the bridge tower and yowling with fear was a pale gray tom.

Bearclaw gasped. "It's the helms-cat! Let's get him down from there!" After Firflame gave him an amazed look, he added, "The safety of a single cat is more important than finding the Avatar Cat now!"

Firflame gave him a determined nod and followed Bearclaw to their mission.

The dark brown tabby tom clung onto the ladder and began climbing carefully because of the weather. Irontail suddenly let out a yowl as a lighting strike flared nearby, but he Bended the lightning through his entire body. He sent it away from the toms trying to rescue the helmscat and forced it to strike the open water. Bearclaw looked around to see his uncle smoking and looking confused, but otherwise undamaged.

Suddenly, to their horror, the helms-cat finally let go with a cry of fear. He fell for a moment, but two pairs of strong jaws grabbed him, one by the scruff and the other by the tail. Bearclaw and Firflame, formerly rivals, had finally worked together to save him.

**...**

"Where are they?" Silverpaw called to Goldpaw as Archie flew on bravely into the blustery hurricane.

"I don't know!" Goldpaw answered back, visions of their lifeless bodies in the ocean flashing in his mind. He cleared it away as he meowed to Archie, "Let's go, Archie!"

A shadow loomed over the three of them; Goldpaw was shocked to see a massive wall of water up ahead. It towered above them and Archie couldn't fly higher in time, but they burst through its crest with a combination of Archie's brute strength and Goldpaw twirling his staff around like a dagger to part the water. In the distance, they saw a small boat, silhouetted by one lighting strike after another.

Goldpaw pointed to the boat, yowling, "There they are! They're in that boat!"

**...**

"Look! Up there!"

"Huh?"

Bearclaw looked up to see what Firflame was pointing at. There, he saw the Avatar Cat's dragon flying through the hurricane. And the Avatar Cat himself was sitting on top of the dragon's head with the silver WaterClan she-cat right beside him.

"It's the Avatar Cat! What do you want us to do?" Firflame asked Bearclaw, a new respect in his yellow eyes.

Bearclaw paused and sat down to consider the situation. Normally, he would tell his warriors to drive the boat after the Avatar Cat, but this weather was too harsh to follow them through. They would lose sight of him through the thickest rain storm and be lost in the eye of the hurricane. Besides, they had an injured warrior to take care of.

"Let them go for now," he meowed. Firflame gaped at him with shock, but Bearclaw added, "We have to get this ship to safety anyways. Like I said, the safety of the warriors is more important than finding the Avatar Cat during this storm."

Irontail nodded, smiled at his nephew, and looked out at the horizon. "And all we have to do is head through the eye of the storm. We're halfway there!"

As the ship sailed onward after this little conversation, Bearclaw stared up into the sky and felt a sense of change around him. They had gone into the center and the dark brown tabby FireBender saw that it was now drizzling slightly.

He turned to his uncle and murmured, "Uncle, I'm sorry for earlier. I've been a complete jackass to everyone, even to you."

"Your apology is already accepted, my nephew," Irontail purred as he laid his muzzle onto Bearclaw's muscular shoulder and then licked the spot where his left ear formally was. Around him, the other warriors crowded around them and began cheering for them.

**...**

Goldpaw could see Ashpaw clinging onto the fishing boat for dear life. He could also hear him wail, "I'm too young to die!"

"_I'm_ not young, but I _still_ don't wanna die!" the old tomcat yowled in reply. He was also hanging onto the ship for his life.

Archie flew in close and Goldpaw leaped onto the boat. Lighting struck the main mast which broke off and fell towards Goldpaw. It was going to hit him and crush him, but he split it in two with a clean claw swipe, the halves falling undamagingly on either side of him. Ashpaw had a rope held securely in his jaws, which Goldpaw grabbed.

"Hang on, you two!"

Goldpaw AirBended himself back onto Archie as he pulled Ashpaw and the old shaggy tom with him. Both tomcats landed on the Asian Lung Dragon; the old cat spat out some water along with a crab and smiled at his fellow fisher sheepishly. A few fish also fell onto Archie's saddle along with the other two cats, flopping pitifully.

But behind them, a shadow appeared and the sound of rushing water was heard. Goldpaw turned around in terror to see a wave building up behind them; it was larger than the one from before. Archie tried to fly away again, but the tidal wave was too fast. All four cats and the dragon were submerged and knocked out.

In a succession that was eerily similar to the time when he froze himself, Goldpaw drifted away from Archie and his pack in the water. But he told himself he would not repeat his mistake; he was going to fight harder. This was what being a warrior cat was all about: never giving up.

His Avatar Cat spirit began to start, but in a departure from the previous encounter, he decided to not make a White Stone. Instead, he walled himself and his friends with a ball of spiritual energy and raised them back up out of the water into the sky. He had finally used the energy of StarClan to raise them back into the air.

_And where the journey may lead you_

_Let this prayer be your guide_

_Though it may take you so far away_

_Always remember your pride..._

**...**

Archie landed outside the cave in the drizzling rain where Goldpaw told Silverpaw his history. When all four cats shook the water out of their fur, the old black-&-tan she-cat raced toward her mate and nuzzled him lovingly. Goldpaw felt happy for those two cats; after what happened, things between them would go okay.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're safe! And while you dry yourself off," she added, her voice sour as she stepped away and pointed to Goldpaw with her tail, "it's high time you apologized to this brave youngster!"

"No, it's okay. He doesn't need to apologize," Goldpaw meowed, stepping in between the couple. He never blamed the old brown tom for what he said, but there needed to be some time clearing up some mixed-up parts.

The old tomcat nodded, lowered his head, and replied, "Hmmm. Let's see, feller, how about I give you three free fish instead? That way we'll be even? Or I'll give you some blood pudding!"

Goldpaw dipped his head respectfully while retching mentally at the thought of eating the bloody butchered item. He meowed politely, "Thank you, but I don't like eating anything too gory."

"Aw, come on now!" the shaggy cat protested with mock hurt. "Blood pudding ain't gory! It's a delicacy all the way from Germany!"

_What's Germany? _the younger cat thought as Ashpaw added, "Am I still being paid?"

The old shaggy brown tom gave him a weird look and, instead of giving him a bag of money, he gave the dark gray tabby tom a fish wreathed in the long sausages. Ashpaw leaped back with a startled yelp while his two friends purred with amusement; even the elderly cats joined in the laughter.

"Hey, Silverpaw?" Goldpaw suddenly meowed as he faced her. "You were right minutes ago. From now, I'm never going to bring that up like that ever again. I'm putting the past behind me."

Silverpaw asked him, her eyes glowing with pride, "Are you sure?"

Goldpaw nodded, licked her shoulder, and replied, "Well, I don't know what'd happen if I wasn't frozen or if I got killed. But I'm here now, and I'm gonna fulfill my destiny here and now."

"Good," Silverpaw replied warmly, nuzzling him and licking him on the ear swiftly. "StarClan won't haunt your dreams like that ever again. I promise."

Suddenly, the brown shaggy tom padded forward, dipped his head to Goldpaw, and meowed with gratitude, "Hey, uh, if you hadn't run away from your Clan, I wouldn't be alive anymore! Thanks for savin' my life, Avatar Cat! You're one hell of a blessing to StarClan after all!"

Goldpaw nodded back and tossed him a mouse to eat. These words were also enough to make him happy until the end of time. He wished he could do more for the elderly cats.

Suddenly, Ashpaw yelped happily, "Hey, you hear that? The storm must've stopped!"

Everyone raced out of the cave to see that the sun was breaking out of the clouds and shining down onto the four cats, red-tailed hawk, and Asian Lung dragon. Everything looked so beautiful after the hurricane, and things were looking bright...until Archie shook the water from his fur and onto all four cats. This made the cats yowl at him:

"AW, SHIT! ARCHIE!"

_To be continued..._

**...**

**AvatarCat12: It took a while for me to finish this. On the original, I made the flashbacks what they are. Here, I made the flashbacks also be told like a story. I hope you all like it. And the song Shadowland is owned by The Lion King on Broadway, not me.**

**Holly: I like it. And it's sad to hear about those Air Nomads.**

**Katara: Actually, Aang told me that the Fire Nation didn't kill them by some stroke of luck. There was an Air Nomad traitor called Afiko, who was jealous of Aang and wanted him dead.**

**Holly: That's terrible!**

**AvatarCat12: I agree with Holly. I hope Afiko got what he deserved.**

**Katara: He did. Sozin killed him.**

**AvatarCat12: Good. Now let's go on to the preview for The Red Demon.**

**Preview: When Silverpaw and Ashpaw catch greencough and become too sick to travel, Goldpaw goes off to search for a cure. Meanwhile, Thornflare hires recruits to capture the Avatar Cat.**

**Anyone who reviews this chapter will receive virtual gummy tongues. Like I said before, they were real! Flames will be used to burn up all of Edgar Ross's files. Constructive criticism is allowed as long as it's not harsh.**

**AvatarCat12, Katara, and Holly: See ya next time!**


	15. The Red Demon

**AvatarCat12: About this chapter, I think it may be the shortest so far.**

**Holly: What makes you say that?**

**AvatarCat12: The original chapters of The Red Demon were quite short, especially the second part of it. But you know what they say, you can't have everything in life.**

**Katara: That's right, AvatarCat. But get this. Aang and I saw today's episode of Pokémon, and Meowth's still part of Team Rocket!**

**Holly: Really? But why?**

**AvatarCat12: Team Rocket's just a bunch of jerks, that's all. Sorry to those who like them. But I'll go ahead and say the disclaimer and summary for now.**

**Disclaimer: I'd live in Hollywood if I owned Avatar: The Last AirBender or Warrior Cats. But Michael Dante DiMartino, Brian Konietzko, and Erin Hunter own them.**

**Summary: ****When Silverpaw and Ashpaw catch greencough and become too sick to travel, Goldpaw goes off to search for a cure. Meanwhile, Thornflare hires recruits to capture the Avatar Cat.**

**Updating Date: January 7, 2012**

**AvatarCat12, Katara, and Holly: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Red Demon_

"No, Thornflare. StarClan forbid! Your request is denied, for the Yangchuan Archers are staying with me!"

It was a cloudy dusky time at a FireClan stronghold. It was a solid fortress with several towers connected by the walls of the fortress. All were built out of pure stone and they had fires burning in them. A small harbor was nearby and there were large FireClan ships in the water beyond the fortress.

Several fierce looking archer cats, their faces and pelts painted either for decoration, camouflage or both, looked over at their targets before readying their weapons. They released lob after lob of arrows from their tails, which struck their archery range targets dead center. Successive arrows split the one already occupying the bull's eye right down the middle of its shaft.

Anyways, one of the fortress towers above the archers held two tomcats, one dark brown with a stumpy tail and a cream-colored tom, standing side by side and watching the archers.

Thornflare meowed to the warrior, "I ask you sincerely to think again, Cloudfur. Their archery abilities are more famous than the Great Journey of the ancient Clans! Those Yangchuan archer cats can pin a vole to a rock and give the Yangchuan victory while giving the Clan a bit of fresh-kill at the same time. By making them your guard hounds, you've made their gifts helpless!"

Cloudfur's creamy fur bristled, his amber eyes burning as he spat, "Listen up, asshole. I'm their commander, and I can use their talents however I wish. They're also my archer warriors, and what I say goes!"

"But what about my search for the Avatar Cat?" Thornflare hissed with exasperation.

"Oh, please," the cream warrior scoffed, rolling his eyes and flicking his tail at him. "It's nothing but a project of pride! We're fighting a great war among the Clans, and I've already got every cat I can count on, Thornflare. Don't change my mind; you're a senior warrior and you have to wait until Webclaw is dead."

Thornflare could do nothing but grumble, but he heard a screech and a falcon landed right in front of Cloudfur. The cream-furred warrior took a message from its back and gave a mouse to the falcon, which cawed and flew off with its reward. Thornflare watched as the look on the dark brown warrior's face turned from confusion to horror; he looked at it after him before turning around to sneer.

He let out a purr of contempt, "I believe this is news from Darkstar. It appears that Webclaw had drowned and died in a swamp. And I've been made FireClan deputy. Now this isn't a _request_; _this_ is an _order_. Let me use the Yangchuan archers."

Cloudfur nodded quickly, as if already accepting that he had a now less important status than the cat who he told off, and left the room immediately. Thornflare padded over to the railing and glanced down at the Yangchuan archer cats, arrogant pride rushing into his heart at finally being the deputy of FireClan.

Little did he know that a cart with a red tribal-looking mask was following a tank over to the fortress...

**...**

Ashpaw coughed fitfully again, making Goldpaw flinch. The dark gray tabby tom had apparently caught whitecough during the terrible hurricane; Goldpaw cursed himself for not seeing this on time.

The three apprentices were resting in an enclosed, temple-like structure on a hillside strewn with broken boulders. Dawn was slowly approaching, but the sky was so overcast with snow falling to the ground that it was still too dark to see outside. This exact cave was overseeing the remnants of a decomposing ghost town and further than that.

"This lavender and feverfew poultice will help bring the fever down some," Silverpaw purred to her brother after spitting the poultice out of her mouth. She placed it in a thrush and handed it to Ashpaw, who laid down in Archie's fur and took it gratefully but weakly.

"T-thanks, S-Silverpaw," Ashpaw rasped feverishly as Tobias flew down from a rock and near his head. "What I love about Archie the most is...he has a good sense of humor..."

Silverpaw laid her nose to her brother's temple and purred, "That's a kind thing to say. I promise I'll tell him when you recover."

Archie apparently had probably heard the comment, for the white-furred Asian Lung Dragon let out a rumble in his throat as he curled around the cats. They were now sheltered from the cold with the added bonus of having built a fire.

Ashpaw laughed and it turned to a cough as he purred, "Good ol' Archie." Immediately, he began to gag and Silverpaw handed him a hollow rock for him to throw up in.

"How's Ashpaw doing?" Goldpaw asked Silverpaw as he gave her some moss soaked with water for him to drink.

"He's not recovering quickly. I think being in that hurricane weakened his strength," Silverpaw replied sadly.

She shoved the moss to Ashpaw and gave a silent sigh as her littermate lapped it up weakly. It was very clear that he did get whitecough; Goldpaw didn't want to know what would happen if his friend got greencough or the deadly blackcough.

Ashpaw was finished lapping up some water and had curled up immediately in his nest, shoving his half-eaten thrush away from him. Tobias took that opportunity to snatch it up.

Goldpaw gazed caringly at his friend before going over to his bag and pulling a scroll out of his bag. He murmured, "I couldn't find any catnip that'll make it go away. I mean, it's the number one thing to help fevers go down. But I did get this nifty map."

He set the scroll onto the ground and opened it up to reveal a map of the northern EarthClan territory; around there, snow would be falling. He pointed to a mountainous area on there and told Silverpaw, "I do know of this medicine institute around these mountains. We'll find the correct herbs to heal Ashpaw in no time."

Silverpaw regretfully shook her head and retorted, "But Goldpaw, Ashpaw's in no condition to go travelling right now. He just needs more rest, and he'll be up and walking at dawn."

But to his horror, after she said this, she suddenly collapsed to the ground and began coughing.

"Oh, shit! Not you too!" Goldpaw wailed. _She probably got the sickness from her brother!_

"It's okay. It's just a little cough. It's nothing I can't hand-" Silverpaw tried to finish her sentence, but she broke herself off with some more violent coughing. As if that wasn't bad enough, the WaterClan she-cat began to throw up a little.

Goldpaw immediately leaped away from her coughing and vomiting, fearful that it would pass on to him and then to the other travelers. The two WaterClan apprentices needed some herbs right away, but he didn't see any borage leaves or chickweed while on their way here. Goldpaw let his fur relax as he padded around the small pool of vomit and led her over to Archie.

"No, you're not fine! That's how Ashpaw acted yesterday when he got whitecough! But look at him! He thinks he's an elephant!"

He turned to see Ashpaw flailing weakly in his nest as the dark gray tabby cat moaned absently, "I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant is faithful one hundred percent..."

**(Author's Note: That part was from Horton Hears A Who, which I don't own. Dr. Seuss owns it even though he's dead.)**

"See?" the Avatar Cat told the sick silver she-cat. "If a few more hours pass by, you'll end up talking rubbish like trying to be an EarthBending cat." He picked up his staff in his jaws, placed it onto his back, and told her, "I'll go find some medicine. You lay down."

Silverpaw nodded weakly in agreement before curling up beside her brother. Not wanting her or Ashpaw to be sicker, Goldpaw nudged her away in fear of more diseases spreading. So she had to be comfortable with sleeping next to the fire on the opposite side of her Clanmate.

After this was done, Goldpaw opened his glider and padded to the edge of the temple. A huge flash of lightning lit the golden AirClan tom and the outer walls of the temple. He twirled his glider shut in his jaws and leaned it against the wall of the temple. Turning to Archie, he mewed over his shoulder, "It'll be safer if I walk on my paws. Archie, keep an eye on them till I come back with herbs."

"HAHAHA!" Ashpaw began laughing in a hallucinating way. "You guys are so damn funny!"

Archie let out a rumble to let him know he understood. With another nod, Goldpaw turned back around and began leaping down the hill the temple was resting on, leaping over one boulder after another. To give more speed, the golden apprentice used some AirBending to speed up ahead faster.

It was up to him to save his friends.

**...**

Bearclaw and Firflame gazed out at the horizon for quite some time. Ever since the storm ended, the ship was sailing through the water easily and both tomcats had taken to watching the skies since the Avatar Cat could arrive any time soon. They just decided to go inside the cabin of the ship, take out a map, and see any possible route that he took.

"Sir, we haven't been able to sniff the Avatar Cat's scent ever since that hurricane. But we could go east from here," Firflame informed his captain. He pointed his paw to the map to show that they were now at the northwest border of EarthClan territory, close to the eastern most border of the northern AirClan territory.

Bearclaw gave a nod to his loyal warrior. He wished he never doubted his intellect and strength; ever since they rescued the helms-cat in the storm, they had taken to making plans together and hadn't argued a lot after that.

Unfortunately, Firflame was disturbed by a big shadow that stretched over the ship. Irontail and the other warriors were playing Pai Sho on the right side of the bridge when the shadow reached over them. Another FireClan navy ship, a colossal hulking thing, was passing them to starboard and it was headed for the reverse direction. Everyone on Bearclaw's ship stopped what they were doing and turned around to stare at it.

"What the hell do they want?" Bearclaw muttered half to himself.

"Ah! Maybe they'd like to play a round of Pai Sho!" Irontail purred, hope in his tawny eyes.

The smaller ship was slowing down until it was resting alongside the much larger, double-smoke stack Fire Nation vessel. Two gray cats leaped down from their ship when a little bridge linked the ships together, and one of them had a scroll in his jaws. When he laid it down on the ground, Bearclaw saw that it was a picture of the golden-furred Avatar Cat.

He began to feel sour and angry as the gray cat rolled up the scroll and declared, "The hunt for the Avatar Cat has been given key importance. Any data about the Avatar Cat or anything related to him is to be reported to Thornflare, the new deputy of FireClan."

Irontail didn't make a move to him, but he made a move in Pai Sho and purred with friendliness, "So he got promoted! I must congratulate him when we cross paths."

His friendliness made Bearclaw feel sick with anger. Now Thornflare would just rub his title in his face like a snake smearing dung from its rear onto its attacker.

**(AN: Snakes can really do that in real life!)**

When his fellow player looked down at the board, he looked peeved, for he suddenly slapped himself on the face with his paw and muttered, "Shit!"

Bearclaw let a growl deep in his throat and snarled resentfully, "I don't have anything to report to that frog-eater. He should come himself and ask me anything if he wants. Now get the hell off of my ship so we can pass through."

"But Thornflare said he will not allow any ships to go in or out-"

"OFF OF HERE!" Bearclaw roared angrily and began to stalk menacingly towards them. That made the gray cat leave and his guards followed him back.

_He can't tell us what to do! We're rogues. Doesn't he remember that?_

Irontail purred suddenly, "I hit the jackpot!"

With a purr and a smile, he reached his paw forward and gathered all the chips from the center of the table while knocking over some beer bottles. It seemed that he wasn't drunk, but he was gambling.

The other cats looked very down, but he mewed in a kind way, "But don't get me wrong; you're still improving to be great players. You'll beat me in no time!"

As the other warriors played another round with Firflame joining in, Bearclaw left the table to look out over the horizon. His shock of hearing the new deputy's orders still rung in his head, but that wasn't going to stop him from his goal. He sat down on the deck, looked down into the dark water where the swordfish were gathering to feed, and began to think.

**...**

Two lookout cats, one cream tabby and one brown-&-gray, were on a FireClan lookout tower on a path and doing StarClan knew what. The cream tabby tomcat was scanning the area through a brass telescope while the brown-&-gray tom was reading a wanted poster of the Avatar Cat.

"Hey, this says that the Avatar Cat has the ability to make tornados and run faster than the wind or a cheetah!" the brown-&-gray reading cat meowed to his companion.

The cream tabby telescope lookout turned around to face his fellow agent. "I wouldn't listen to all that fox-dung if I were you. Besides, there can't be any proof that it's true!" At that, he returned to his instrument, where he took a quick look through the telescope.

He had a view of three bends in the mountain pass and began to scan the place. Suddenly, in a flash, a cloud of dust sprinted through the bend furthermost away, then the next one, and finally past the lookout itself. The rush of wind and dust was so tremendous that it almost blew them away.

The two lookout cats blinked their eyes at one another. Then the telescope lookout cat padded to a horn connected to a pipe and yowled a warning yowl through it to any lookout nearby.

**...**

"Silverpaw...water..." Ashpaw rasped weakly.

Tobias got near Ashpaw and quickly got back, instinctively afraid to get the disease near him. Even though he couldn't really understand cats, he could read their lips to see what they were saying.

Silverpaw, who was resting against Archie's coat, had also gotten whitecough, but she looked so sick that it looked like she got greencough. She gave a weak moan for Tobias to come to her and the red-tailed hawk obeyed.

"Tobias...listen..." she rasped as she shoved a bottle of empty water to the raptor and inviting him to pick it up. "Please...take this to the nearest river..." she broke off as she coughed before going on, "...and fill this with water..."

Tobias gave a chirp and tilted his head to one side, trying to understand her. In his own sharp green eyes, he could see Silverpaw making weak flapping motions with her paws, and all he heard were just meowing from an ordinary cat. To him, it was all just yapping babble; knowing cat language was tougher than he thought.

"Got it?" Silverpaw finished. Tobias nodded, took the bottle into his talon, and took off into the air as he began to look for a nearby source of water.

**...**

Goldpaw puffed hard as he padded up the rocky steps to a wooden building: the medicine institute. He didn't care that he was tired; all that mattered was getting healing herbs for his friends. He hoped that the cats here had catnip.

Inside, it looked like a tropical and temperate garden mixed together. It was filled with all sorts of bushes, trees, and flowers with several animals like butterflies and moles. He could see moss growing on rocks and made a mental note to get more moss for his friends.

Up ahead, Goldpaw could see an old dark gray tortoiseshell she-cat and a black-&-tan ferret nearby. He padded up to them while the ferret let out a squeal of surprise and it sprung away.

"Greetings..." Goldpaw panted as he stopped. "Listen, I'm sorry I came here uninvited, but I have to get healing herbs for my friends. They have whitecough and they've been vomiting and-"

"Settle down, young one; they'll be fine." The old she-cat was stirring something in a bowl on the table she was sitting on. She padded over to the table where the ferret climbed onto and meowed, "You know, I've been up here for six years, and other cats used to live here and grow plants. But they left long ago. Now it's just me and my dear Lily. And my name is Spruce." She reached her paw over to the ferret and patted it on the head; it gave a cheerful squeak in return.

Goldpaw gave a nod and the old she-cat went on, "Wounded warriors of EarthClan had traveled here in the past, and they still do now and again. Brave young ones, they are. Thanks to all these useful herbs, they leave in a better shape than they had when they get here."

"I know it's nice and all, but are you finished?"

Goldpaw asked her impatiently, feeling that time was running out for his friends. _If she continues her stories, I'll have to stay here until I grow as old as Morningflower!_

"Just hang on. I just have to add one more ingredient," Spruce replied as she leapt off the table and began prowling through the bushes. She looked around and tasted the plants, muttering, "Oh, is it borage? Um...it won't work. What about lavender? No, that won't do. What in the name of StarClan is that sneaky little thing?"

_This is gonna take such a long time._

Goldpaw gave an exasperated yawn and laid out flat across his back. Every minute to heal his friends counted and to waste time took out one ounce of life that they had.

**...**

As the sun sunk behind the ocean, making its water turn blood-red, Bearclaw leaped into the air and slashed at an insect with his flaming claws. The fluttering locust fell down dead as a small burning crisp. It wasn't much of a target practice, but it was better than the slimy fish that he had to eat.

"Bearclaw, is everything all right?" Bearclaw turned to see Irontail pad to him with a concerned look on his flat face. "It's an hour ever since the news came, and you didn't give your warriors a single command."

"I don't care what they do," the dark tabby hissed, looking away to the sea.

Irontail gave him a respectful nod and meowed, "Don't give up yet, my nephew. With the help of StarClan, you'll find the Avatar Cat before Thornflare could sniff him out."

Bearclaw turned around again to face his uncle, desperation and fear etched out on his battle-scarred face. "How the hell can I, Uncle? With all the sources Thornflare's receiving, he'll find the Avatar Cat even before I have a chance to move out!"

He turned away to look out at the sea once again. "I'm gonna lose it all: my honor, my destiny, and my Clan..."

**...**

"Ah, here we are! Honey from a stick!" Spruce sang as she took a stick covered with honey from a beehive.

"Finally!" Goldpaw huffed as she laid the stick in the bowl and began to stir the mix with her paws. When she finished, the young tomcat padded forward and took the bowl in his jaws, mumbling, "Thank you for your help!"

"Paws off, young'un!" the old gray tortoiseshell she-cat suddenly snapped as she reached to him and nipped his front paw pretty hard, making him yelp with pain and drop the bowl. The elder's eyes were blazing as she hissed, "What in StarClan's name are you doing?"

Startled and mortified, Goldpaw stammered, "What do you mean? I'm just taking the herbs to my friends!"

Realization and mischief appeared in her eyes as she chuckled, "Oh, that's what you mean! But no, this mix isn't for your friends, I'm sorry to say. This is just little Lily's supper instead."

As soon as she finished, the medicine loner cat picked up the bowl in her jaws and placed it on the table in front of Lily. She began to pet the small ferret, which began to eat its fill and make a happy rumbling noise in its throat. It sounded like a cat's purr.

Seeing the disbelief on Goldpaw's face, she added, "Her favorite is honey."

"Aw, come on!" Goldpaw wailed with irritation. Time was running out for his friends, and there was no time to waste. "What about my friends? They have greencough and I need healing herbs for them!"

"Oh, if that's all, then give them some frozen swamp toads!" Spruce purred. "If you need them, you'll find them near the swamp at the bottom of this valley. Luckily, no crocodiles are around, though there'll be snakes."

Goldpaw didn't listen to the snake comment; he was confused about the toad thing. ShadowClan and FireClan cats were the ones who ate frogs or toads, but they tasted pretty disgusting. Once he almost ate a bright red frog only to make Ashpaw pull him away and tell him that it was a very deadly frog. One bite could kill him.

He meowed, "But what am I gonna do with a bunch of toads?"

Spruce cackled, "You suck on 'em, of course!"

"_Suck on them? _Eww!" Goldpaw meowed with disgust and disbelief.

Now he felt really disgusted. He knew that eating them was nasty and sometimes fatal, but to suck on them... He almost threw up, but he swallowed it down, feeling a bitter taste in his mouth.

"But of course!" Spruce meowed, her eyes sparkling with mischief and wisdom in her pale eyes. "You don't have to eat them! The swamp toads' skins are made of the same substance that makes catmint taste so lovely and tasty. It'll heal your friends of either whitecough or greencough or even blackcough! But you must hurry and gather as much as you can; if those little things thaw out, they'll be as much use as a dead fox!"

A few minutes of silence, then...

Goldpaw broke it by mewing, "You're crazy, aren't you?"

Spruce nodded while rasping cheerfully, "Thaaat's right! Don't wear it out!" She began to turn back around, but she looked back around because Goldpaw didn't move from the spot.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" She took the bowl and flung it at him; he ended up with the honey plastered all over his face. "Get to your friends! Go!"

"Thanks again!" Goldpaw meowed while using a little bit of WaterBending to get the honey off of his face...then he ate it afterward. It still tasted sweet in his belly after all those moons; honey can really taste so sweet even after fourteen years. Goldpaw gave a farewell before leaping out of the building and began to race down the mountain.

Suddenly, along the way, a couple of arrows flew through the air at him. Two landed to his immediate right and left at his paws. As Goldpaw looked around, a huge number of arrows arched themselves toward him at a quick speed. Feeling the need to defend himself, Goldpaw AirBended wind around him while he whipped his tail around and knocked the arrows aside.

Goldpaw pulled an arrow out of the snowy ground with his teeth and offered it to someone not there. He asked them cheekily, "Hey, can someone pick this up? Some jackass threw these at me. Can you pick this up? Please?" he added in a more polite tone.

The answer was a rustling of leaves in the surrounding trees, and there were many cats with red paint all over their bodies. This was like the Tribe of Heavy Roses and yet the situation seemed to be dire as they leaped down and stalked toward him. Goldpaw backed away while fluffing out his fur to make himself look bigger and he let out a warning hiss.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Panicking at the sight of archers, Goldpaw began struggling to pull an arrow out of the ground before others found it. He pulled it out just in time as the archer cats fired another volley at him, but he was ready now. He sprinted out of the way as two groups of four arrows each dug into the ground near him as he ran off.

He ran with all the might of StarClan towards the gate he entered through, but, to his dismay, it was blocked by archers. They fired, but Goldpaw dodged them and fled in the opposite direction. Evading hails of arrows and anxious to get away, he leapt off the cliff at the back of the medicine cat's herb building.

As he hurtled down the cliff and thanking StarClan for his AirClan blood, he saw the archer cats jump off the cliff after him, fear absent in their eyes. _Why the hell don't they turn around?_

Thinking about how birds sometimes glide, Goldpaw spread out his legs and felt the air around him slow down as he fell. But when he hit the canopy of the swamp, he felt the branches of the trees strike his face with every cat-length he fell.

He looked up to see the archer cats fire their arrows at him from their tails as they copied his technique: slowing down in the air. Goldpaw saw that those arrows were actually anchor ropes, which attacked themselves to the nearest branches. He leaped away quickly through the trees like a monkey to put distance between himself and his attackers.

"Thank StarClan I lost them. But why would they attack me?" Goldpaw meowed as he padded into the chilly water of the open swamp.

While there, he felt around for some toads, but all he found so far were rocks, sticks, and a small swamp rat. But when he felt around some more, he dug into the mud and grabbed something in his jaws, pulling it out of the quagmire. However, what he had dragged out made him drop it.

Bile rise in his throat when it was the decaying corpse of a gray-&-cream cat; flies were buzzing around a blood-dry wound on its throat. He almost puked right on the spot when he saw maggots crawling in its fur, but he swallowed the bile again. It was revolting when he would see a pile of rotted fresh-kill, but the rotting body of a cat was more disgusting.

But there wasn't any time to worry about the corpse; there were toads to look out for. He slipped on a slippery substance and, as he pulled himself out of the water, there was a frozen amphibian in his front paw.

"Yes! I got one!"

But this joy didn't last, for the toad was knocked out of his paw by an arrow as he padded out of the swamp. Goldpaw gave a snarl of shock as he jumped back into the water and began paddling through the swampy liquid as he looked for more toads. Arrows flew around him as he climbed onto a log with some toads being held by their toes.

He used WaterBending with his tail to make a wall of ice, but the arrows burst through; he was still an amateur at this. Goldpaw tried not to screech as an arrow pinned his tail to the log, blood seeping from the wound. He let out a yowl as his hind paws were pinned by arrows; he gathered all the toads he could carry into a bag around his neck. To make things worse, a net was thrown over him and he let out a squeak of terror.

_Great. ANOTHER mess! What's wrong with these guys?_

**...**

Goldpaw opened his eyes some time later to look around in despair; the room was dark, but there was fire in the room that shed some illumination. Goldpaw raised his head and let out a growl of defiance as he realized what happened: he was a prisoner in a large room with two stone pillars that had fires on their crests. Goldpaw was shackled to them from his arms like being crucified.

_Now how'll I get out?_

While the golden tom struggled against his chains, the door opened and Goldpaw had to look up. A familiar dark brown tom with amber eyes and a stumpy tail was prowling towards him into the room, his face smug with arrogance. This was Thornflare, the FireClan cat who had tried to attack him and his friends back at Whitestorm's temple.

"So you're the almighty Avatar Cat, eh?" Thornflare chuckled as he prowled around him. "A bit young to master all four elements, but what does it matter? You know, I'll never know how you hid from FireClan for fourteen years, but your little hiding game is finished."

"I never hid from you or other cat!" Goldpaw spat as he struggled some more. "Now untie me so I can kick your ass!"

Thornflare stopped circling him. "I think not. So tell me how being the last AirClan cat feels. Do you miss your Clan?" he added as he shoved his face into Goldpaw's, whose defiant stare melted away with memories as he dropped his head.

"But don't worry, little mouse-heart. I won't kill you like they were slain like cattle," Thornflare went on as Goldpaw glared at him with his dark gray eyes blazing. "Because if I did that, you'll end up being reborn, and the search for the Avatar Cat will have to start over again. So I'll keep you alive..."

At this, he clawed Goldpaw in the face. "...but just barely."

Blood dripping down his face, Goldpaw watched as Thornflare padded away from him with a smirk still on his face. As rage swelled inside him like a bubble, he blew a gust of forced wind from his jaws, knocking Thornflare into the wall where he collapsed in a heap. The dark brown warrior shook his head to clear his vision and stood up with another sneer on his face.

Thornflare jeered, "Go ahead and blow all the air you want at me. Your state is futile! There's no escaping this fortress' no one will rescue you!" With a final laugh, he walked out of the room and the door slammed shut behind him.

**...**

"Silverpaw... water?" Ashpaw moaned as he threw up for the third time that day.

"Tobias will be...back soon..." Silverpaw wheezed as she slowly sat up in a sitting position. She and her brother clearly had greencough, and if Goldpaw didn't hurry up, they would either die straight away or blackcough would come around.

A flap of wings announced the arrival of Tobias. The red-tailed hawk was cawing happily as he carried a rotting fish to Silverpaw, dropping it at her paws.

Silverpaw looked weakly down at it with disgust and wrinkled her nose. "Ew... No, Tobias...I said water... Wa-ter."

Tobias gave a nod and flew off, leaving Silverpaw to lay back down and murmur, "Goldpaw, what's taking you so long...?"

**...**

A black-furred animal with a red mask watched as the wagon drawn by a horse made its way to the fortress gate ahead. With a grunt of satisfaction, the creature ran close to it, unsheathed long dagger-like claws, and climbed its way beneath the carriage. He could hear voices from around and above him.

"All clear. But he doesn't talk much."

"I'd be careful if I were you. He looked dangerous!"

"Good idea. Check the carriages and shut the gates!"

As the creature's carriage got close, it suddenly made itself invisible just like a chameleon would. The tomcat from above checked the undercarriage and looked up, calling, "All clear. Go in."

The inside of the wagon was where the Red Demon has hidden himself, and the wagon finally entered the first of the fortress' three gates. Out in the first courtyard, the boxes in the wagon had been unloaded. The Red Demon tore away swiftly from the wagons and ducked into the shadows as slyly as a snake.

After more sneaking around, he found himself looking at an elaborate balcony with beacon pots on either side. The balcony was decorated with spades and shades of red and golden. Thornflare himself had come out, decorated in a ritual robe flanked by two warriors. During his speech, the Red Demon saw that the innermost courtyard was full of FireClan cats standing at attention.

"We are children of Fire, the superior element and the ultimate Clan!" the stumpy-tailed deputy was yowling. "The Avatar Cat was the only obstacle standing in our way of victory until today! He is now my prisoner!"

The warriors chanted Thornflare's name three times before he went on.

"This greenleaf, the Shadow Meteor will return to grant us its divine power!"

Another cheer burst through the Clan.

"And this coming greenleaf, FireClan will attack the walls of BoulderClan, kill its cats, and burn it right to the ground! Fire will rule all!"

Not wanting to listen anymore as the Clan cats cheered, the Red Demon sprinted on ahead and heard an exhausted sigh coming from a high tower. So he began moving through the fort quietly and steadily as he crept around into the deeper part of the fortress.

**...**

As Goldpaw continued to struggle against his chains fruitlessly, he finally stopped and began breathing heavily. To his dismay, the toads in his bag had already melted and were already hopping away from him and toward the door.

"Frozen toads, stop! Please!" he moaned. "My friends need to suck on you to get better! Get back to being frozen, toads!"

But the toads ignored him and continued hopping toward the door; some even squeezed their fat bodies under the crack of the door. Mad with desperation, Goldpaw began struggling wildly like a trapped deer.

**...**

The Red Demon watched as two armored warriors pricked their ears with confusion to hear the croaking of toads. They looked down to see a few toads coming from underneath the door. At this, they gave each other confused looks.

Suddenly, a brown tabby FireClan cat's guillotined head bounced down the hall towards them. One of the guards padded up the hallway with terror and turned right at the first joint, vanishing from view. Gouts of flame erupted from this cat as the Red Demon pounced on top of the warrior cat. Some more padding was heard up to the joint as they turned right, their fear-scent coming off in waves.

The first tabby guard who went was hanging from the ceiling, tied up and dead. The Red Demon glared down at the two strangers and dropped down on top of them. The melee began, but it was over as soon as it began as he slashed their throats. A final ginger guard saw the strange animal and lunged at him. The Red Demon finished him off and turned to the Avatar Cat's chamber.

The black-&-brown guard grabbed the alarm horn next to him in his jaws, but the Red Demon found a knife and threw it at him, piercing his throat and blood spraying from the wound. The guard let loose choking gouts of flame at the Red Demon as he sprinted down the hall toward him, but the intruder extinguished the blast by throwing a bucket of water at him. The masked figure swept the cat's paws out from under him with a claw swipe and killed him with a slice to the neck.

When all the cats were dead, the Red Demon grabbed a knife and started to unlock the door holding his prey. It unlocked, and he slipped inside.

**...**

Goldpaw was still struggling inside the chamber when he stopped and looked at the noises of violence and gurgling noises coming from through door. Those stopped abruptly and were replaced by the sound of the lock turning in the door.

The door opened and a mysterious figure with a scary red demon-like mask entered. He wielded two curved knives from beneath his paws and flew straight at Goldpaw, who let out a screech in fear.

_StarClan, help me!_

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldpaw continue to yowl in fear as the mysterious black-furred red-masked creature leaped at him, his claws as long as daggers. The creature reared up on his hind legs and took a hefty claw swipe in his direction. Goldpaw closed his eyes and hid his eyes under his paws.

_Wait...what?_

Goldpaw saw that the chains holding him in place were snapped in two while some bits were still around his front legs. This Red Demon animal had saved him by cutting off his chains with those dagger-like claws.

As the Red Demon came closer and broke apart the chains on his legs, Goldpaw stared up at the liberator in wonder. But before he could say thanks, the creature turned tail and started to pad away from him and out toward the door.

"Who are you?" Goldpaw blurted out. "What's going on here? Are you rescuing me?" The Red Demon said nothing; instead, he shoved the door open and pointed his two-ended tail to the hallway. "I guess that's a 'yes', then."

Not thinking about anything else at the moment, the golden apprentice followed the rogue out past the guard; his throat was pierced through by a dagger, so he was dead. They padded past him at the door to his chamber. When they got past a couple of decapitated cats, Goldpaw heard toad noises and turns to see his toads crawling on the floor and trying to flee.

Goldpaw barked at them, "Hey, get back here, you damn toads! And don't you dare thaw out!"

The Red Demon landed by his side and pulled him away by the scruff with teeth hidden under the mask while he protested, "You don't understand! My friends need to suck on them! They have greencough!"

**...**

Meanwhile, back at the run-down temple, Tobias had succeeded in piling up mountains of junk around the ill Silverpaw, but he had failed many times to bring some water to the siblings. Tobias returned again with yet another trinket, an old crown, and placed it on top of Silverpaw's head.

The silver apprentice coughed violently and rasped in a voice so weak and sickly that it was a miracle that she made it this far. She moaned, "No, Tobias...how many freakin' times...do I have to...tell you? We need..."

Tobias tilted his head to one side.

Forget it..." She curled up into a ball and nestled closer to Archie. "Goldpaw...hurry...please..."

"Goldpaw? Who's Goldpaw, Your Majesty?" Ashpaw laughed in a weak and high voice.

Annoyed, Silverpaw looked up to glare at him, her right brow twitching. But she was too weak to give him at snarl, so she laid back down and began to tremble with coldness and sickness.

**...**

As silent as jackals, Goldpaw and the Red Demon slunk without a sound into the sewer system under the fortress. Warrior cats were strolling around back and forth above them. They hopped quickly out of a grate and into one of the courtyards. They could see Thornflare padding in one of the torch-lit corridors of the fortress, followed by some sort of scribe holding a bone.

"Let it be known that on this bone, there will be a full record of my speech for Darkstar, leader of FireClan," the FireClan deputy was instructing the scribe. "There shall be brilliant testimonials from all of the ranking senior warriors present, and-"

He was cut off when he saw the blood lap around his paws. Goldpaw and the Red Demon looked on as Thornflare glared in disbelief at the decapitated and murdered warrior that lay before him. Thornflare was now really angry, for he slammed open the door to Goldpaw's prison cell.

It was now empty except for a thawed-out toad, which croaked at him from the floor. The dark brown tom let out a snarl of anger and left with the scribe in tow.

"Sir, shall I put in the delaying of the speech?" he asked as Goldpaw and the Red Demon ran the other way and out of sight.

The two escapees leaped out of the sewer and climbed a rope on the inmost wall of the fortress so they could leave. Sadly, they were spotted as one of the guard cats shouted, "There! On the wall! They're escaping!"

All of a sudden, a ginger tabby cat appeared at the top of the wall they were climbing. He cut the rope with his claws, and the pair fell down the wall with Goldpaw yowling with fear and shock. But he quickly saved himself and his new cohort by AirBending them to a soft landing. When the dust cleared, the Red Demon unsheathed his dagger-like claws and they sprang off.

Thornflare was sitting on the ornate balcony's railing with a furious look in his amber eyes. He announced, "The Avatar Cat has escaped! Do not let him through! Close those gates right now!"

"Stay close!" Goldpaw told the Red Demon, who gave him a brusque nod. _Good. We'll make it!_

The third gate was closing in front of them, as were the two beyond it, and it was blocked by cats. Goldpaw AirBended a blast of air that blew them out of the way. Goldpaw made it to the gate, but Goldpaw turned to see his rescuer in trouble; the Red Demon got involved in a fight and had to stop to fight. He grabbed a spear from a cat close to him, AirBended him out of the way, broke the head off the spear with his fangs, and launched back into battle to save his new comrade.

The gate closed behind him and the Red Demon was surrounded, but Goldpaw AirBended them all out of the way. With a powerful effort, he then catapulted his rescuer to the top of the third wall. He was instantly surrounded, but Goldpaw came back using his staff as a windmill-like way. He plucked the Red Demon off the wall in his jaws and headed into the next courtyard.

While the golden Avatar Cat struggled to keep them aloft, the Red Demon used his dagger claws to knock the spears sent up at them by the guards. They barely made it to the top of the next wall because they crashed hurriedly onto the wall.

Goldpaw's staff spun away as guards instantly rushed toward them, their claws unsheathed and their fangs bared. Goldpaw moved onward for his staff, but a brown tomcat stopped him, taking a few swipes at Goldpaw with his claws. The Red Demon helped him by throwing the guard over the wall, and that cat landed with a crunchy thud. Goldpaw did the same thing by AirBending all the other guards off the wall.

A loud yowl brought the two escapees' attention to the second wall, where more warriors were bringing scaling ladders and climbing up. Goldpaw and the Red Demon knocked off the soldiers with kicks as they reached the top. With two mighty blasts from his tail, Goldpaw left the scaling ladders nearest him as the Red Demon knocked the one final cat off his with a slash to the throat. Goldpaw brought over his two scaling ladders and leapt onto the one his redeemer just emptied. He threw one of the ladders to the strange masked creature.

"Take it and jump onto my back! Trust me!" Goldpaw called to his rescuer.

The Red Demon obeyed what he said and Goldpaw used the ladders as long giraffe-like legs, shedding one each time a long step was taken. The dawn light began to creep around the sky above the courtyard as the first ladder shed had FireClan cats on it, but it crumbled into the dust.

Goldpaw meowed, "Keep it up! Hand me the next one!"

The Red Demon once again obeyed him. The two cats looked down with horror at their last stilt, where a FireBending cat sent a spout of flame from his claws up the ladder. It was too late, for Goldpaw and the Red Demon leapt from the last stilt and managed to grab the edge of the final wall with their claws. They were unable to hold on, unfortunately, and they fell to the ground. When they landed, the Red Demon extracted his blade-like claws as four FireBenders unleashed their flames onto them, but Goldpaw placed himself between them and AirBended the flames away.

"Hold your fire!" Thornflare called from his balcony. He held up a paw for them to stop as he announced, "The Avatar Cat must be kept alive! Do not kill him!"

Suddenly, the Red Demon came up behind the Avatar Cat, knocked him to the ground, and placed a paw onto his throat. Thornflare knew his own glorious situation was backfired...even though it appeared to be that way.

Through gritted teeth, Thornflare snapped at the cats below, "Let the gate open!"

"What the hell are you doing, Thornflare?" the creamy brown tabby tom beside him gasped with astonishment.

"Just let them out! Now!"

The gate finally opened and the Red Demon backed out with his captive's scruff in his jaws, dragging him around on the ground. Thornflare looked around him to see the brown tabby questioning him still visible over his left shoulder.

The tabby moaned with shock, "But...how could you let them go? We had him!"

"A situation like this one requires...ah, precision," the FireClan deputy replied silkily.

He watched as the Red Demon continued backing away from the stronghold. The dark brown tom now padded forward until he looked on from the top of the main gate. He looked over to his right and nodded to the Yangchuan archers. "Is your shot clear?"

The Yangchuan cat, maybe a tortoiseshell, didn't respond, but he lowered his head and bow in preparation to make his shot.

"Good," Thornflare purred through narrow amber eyes. "Knock out that bandit. The Avatar Cat won't be the only cat I'll bring to Darkstar." And the archer cat quickly released his arrow.

While Goldpaw was dragged out of the gate by the Red Demon, he felt the grip on his scruff lessen. He quickly leaped away and saw what had happened: an arrow had struck his rescuer right on the forehead and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Goldpaw stared down at him in dismay, his gray eyes feeling glossy, before he recovered and AirBended a huge cloud of sand around him and the Red Demon with his tail.

"Bring the Avatar Cat here!" Thornflare's voice yowled out behind them.

The main gate was now opening and a crowd of FireClan cats appearing and sprinting towards the dust cloud. Inside the dust cloud, Goldpaw reached down and used his teeth to remove the Red Demon's mask. He backed away with shock and realization at seeing the creature behind the mask.

It was Bearclaw. The large dark tabby had a bloody lump on his forehead and his fur had been dyed to black.

Goldpaw leaped backwards in horror, falling rearward onto the ground. He jumped up and ran away, desperate to flee from the cat who was trying to capture him. But then, with a pang of guilt sharper than a badger's fangs, he turned to look at Bearclaw, his young heart full of sympathy. If he left Bearclaw to die right there without helping, StarClan would never forgive him. But when he saw the FireClan warriors getting close through the smoke, he still hesitated. But he finally made up his decision...

And when the dust cleared, however, the warriors found nothing. The crossroad was now empty.

Thornflare was now insanely angry; he had captured the Avatar Cat, but he slipped away like a snake under a log. A toad hopped up onto the railing and croaked, but Thornflare grabbed it in his jaws and flung it hard against the wall. It slid down dead to the ground, its limbs floppy and useless like the Avatar Cat's fighting spirit.

**...**

Bearclaw woke up in the middle of a forest as he looked straight up into the canopy overhead. It was morning as the sun shone brightly and birds began to sing, but this made him blurry. He groaned and looked around the green scenery, this being unlike the dim swamp he had to go through to get the Avatar Cat.

The dark brown tabby warrior could see said cat sitting on a nearby root, looking quite forlorn. Bearclaw sat up and rubbed his eyes with his forepaw, looking a bit dazed still.

"You know what the worst part is about being born fourteen years old?" The Avatar Cat's voice startled him before he could wash his fur. "It's missing the friends I used to visit and spend time with."

Bearclaw was still feeling a little too weak, but he had no choice but to listen to his talk. So he began washing his fur and listened to the story between licks.

The Avatar Cat went on, "Before Shadowstar started this damn war, I used to hang out with my friend Blazepaw. The both of us were always getting in and out of trouble together like messing with patrols and battling foxes. Let me tell you this: he was one of the best friends a cat could have. And he was a FireClan cat just like you!"

With surprise, Bearclaw stopped licking his messy fur and looked up to see the golden cat staring at him with nostalgia. Nostalgia in those dark gray depths.

"You know what?" the apprentice went on. "I bet we'd be friends also if we knew each other back then!"

The dark tabby continued to gaze at him with surprise as he laid down on a piece of moss. The Avatar Cat was still staring down at him from his perch on the tree root. A few seconds went by, then...

Bearclaw leaped at him with his fangs surrounded by fire and his claws were unsheathed. But before he could get his claws on him, the Avatar Cat dodged the attack, leaped into the branches of a tree, and leaped away with the speed of his birth Clan.

Bearclaw just gave a sigh and padded on out of the forest. He felt he had failed yet again to catch the Avatar Cat, but that didn't matter right now; instead, he was looking forward to a long rest. While he went away from the forest, he looked down at the swamp to see the Avatar Cat wading around in the water and plucking out frozen toads in his jaws.

**...**

When Bearclaw got back to his reeling in the cutter vessel in the harbor, he heard mournful music coming from the mother ship. But he just gave a yawn when he padded past his uncle on the main deck. The old fat gray tabby tom had been practicing with the Asian tuba that he bought the day Bearclaw threatened to kill the Avatar Cat's silver-pelted friend.

"There you are!" Irontail purred, amusement filling his voice as he gently shoved away a small glass of vodka. "Bearclaw, where have you been all night? You missed music night and Firflame had sung a pleasing romance song!"

Instead of explaining, Bearclaw just shrugged and walked away, muttering, "I'm gonna go to sleep. Don't wake me up until sundown."

When his nephew was gone, Irontail rubbed his head with his paw and wondered what his nephew was up to this time. There was one time when he padded away at dawn to hunt, his fur all clean; when he returned, his pelt was covered in blood and he carried a messy piece of fresh-kill. He had gotten into a fight with a rogue cat over a caught pheasant.

_Bearclaw has gotten too little misadventures when he was an apprentice, _he reminded himself as he shook his head. With that said, he blew into his tuba again, echoing the song he had played for most of the night.

**...**

Goldpaw padded back sadly into the temple-like area and reached his friends immediately. He felt their heads and was shocked to see that their fevers had gone high almost to the point of blackcough. Shame rose up in his throat when he realized how long he left his friends there with no healing herbs.

_They almost _died_ while I was away! _he realized with pain and shame.

Goldpaw reached down into his bag that held the toads and dumped them on the cold ground. He padded to Silverpaw and placed a toad into her gaping mouth; as soon as she had the toad in her mouth, she immediately started sucking on it.

He did the same to Ashpaw, telling him, "Here, suck on these. They'll help take the greencough away."

With a heavy sigh, he collapsed onto Archie's long tail and laid down straight out onto his back. He was still thinking about the misfortune accident that he had gotten into and how Bearclaw was the one who helped him escape. Plus, he partly blamed himself for not reaching his friends in time.

"Hey, Goldpaw. How was your trip?" Ashpaw mumbled, his speech impaired by his amphibian oral obstruction. "Did you get to make new friends?"

"Nope. Not one," Goldpaw sighed.

He let out a grumble as he circled around on Archie's tail and closed his eyes, thinking about the failed attempt to let Bearclaw be his friend. Goldpaw could imagine that dark warrior laying in his nest and looking troubled. He hoped that the FireBender would be a friend, but Silverpaw and Ashpaw wouldn't thank him. As far as they were concerned, all FireClan cats were enemies.

"Mmm!" Ashpaw's mumbling made Goldpaw snap his eyes back open. He looked up to see the dark gray tabby tom sucking on his toad with a happy look on his face. "This thing is delicious!"

"I agree! They're filled with catmint!" Silverpaw added, her speech also impaired by _her_ own amphibian oral obstruction, but her blue eyes were filled with happiness. "What are they?"

Goldpaw purred with laughter, his sulkiness gone, and meowed, "You know how ShadowClan cats loved to eat frogs or toads?" When they nodded to him in a confused way, he added, "Well, I think you're on your way to become ShadowClan cats!"

Ashpaw gave him a look of shock and opened his mouth with disgust; the toad thawed out and began squirming and kicking. Silverpaw let out a squeal of disgust as her own amphibian hopped out of her open mouth.

"OH, SHIT!" they both yowled.

As both WaterClan apprentices began coughing and spitting in disgust, Goldpaw purred happily to himself. Of course Bearclaw had refused to be his friend, but it didn't matter anymore. His two friends were the best he had right now.

Those two no longer had greencough and they could continue their long journey.

_To be continued..._

**...**

**AvatarCat12: I know I already updated another chapter of Avatar Cat, but I just wanted it done and over with. You guys understand, right?**

**Katara: We do.**

**Holly: And by the way, we heard some other author saying that your Pokémon Mystery Dungeon story was great until you stopped updating it. What should we do about that?**

**AvatarCat12: I'm working on it already, and I'll have it updated soon. So who'd like to say the preview for The Fortuneteller and the review thing?**

**Katara: I will.**

**Preview: Goldpaw and his friends arrive at a village where the cats worship a fortuneteller. But Ashpaw doubts this and tries to prove fortunetelling to be fake. Meanwhile, Goldpaw finds himself feeling things he had never felt before.**

**And anyone who reviews this chapter/episode will receive virtual Now And Later candy canes. They can come in any flavor of Now And Later you'd like. And you can also get a soda of your choice. (Pauses) You think we're going a bit too far with the prizes?**

**Holly: I think so.**

**AvatarCat12: Me too. I'll have to limit it only to Pikachu plush dolls.**

**AvatarCat12, Katara, and Holly: See ya next time!**


	16. The Fortuneteller

**AvatarCat12: This episode is my favorite out the season one's episode. Especially at the beginning.**

**Katara: Really? Why'd you say that?**

**Holly: You were glowing in the sunlight after Aang gave you that necklace. He, AvatarCat here, and I thought you looked beautiful.**

**Katara: (Gaps at them) You really think so?**

**AvatarCat12: Yeah.**

**Katara: (Hugs them both one at a time) Thanks, you two! That's so sweet!**

**AvatarCat12: Yeah, I get called sweet a lot. But I'll go ahead with this stuff.**

**Disclaimer: Bryke and Erin Hunter own all right to Avatar: The Last AirBender and Warrior Cats. I'm mashing them together for others' entertainment. And that means I don't own them.**

**Summary: Goldpaw and his friends arrive at a village, where the cats adore a fortuneteller. But Ashpaw doubts this and tries to prove fortunetelling to be fake. Meanwhile, Goldpaw finds himself feeling things he had never felt before.**

**Updating Date: January 9, 2012**

**AvatarCat12, Katara, and Holly: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Fortuneteller_

It had quite a few days after Silverpaw and Ashpaw recovered from their greencough and they and Goldpaw were on the road once again. The three cats, the dragon, and the hawk were settling into their camp on the lakeshore. A large blue tent occupied the left side of the camp, but the others were broken down in case they needed to leave.

"Look over there!" Silverpaw's yowl brought Goldpaw up from whatever he was going. She was pointing her paw at a red-bodied sockeye salmon leaping around in the water.

While it jumped around in front of them, Ashpaw crouched low into the hunting position as he hissed angrily, "That son of a bitch is taunting us! He is _so _dead!" He reached for an apparently absent piece of string and hissed, "All right! Who's the wise cat who took my fishing line?"

Goldpaw looked down at his work; he was apparently making some kind of necklace. He looked up at Ashpaw and meowed, "Sorry. I wasn't thinking if you were gonna need it." He picked up the necklace and showed him it.

"Aw, now look! It's tangled!" Ashpaw groaned.

"No, it's not! It's woven!" Goldpaw protested, getting up and walking to Silverpaw. He placed the necklace down at her paws and purred sheepishly, "Silverpaw, I made you a new necklace. Since you lost the old one, I figured that you could use a new one..."

Ever since Silverpaw lost her mother's necklace while helping Brindle and his father, Goldpaw felt that Silverpaw was deeply upset about the loss of her heirloom. So he spent days trying to help her feel better like hunting for her and the likes. But he decided that this may be the nicest thing he ever did for her, yet he didn't want a reward for this.

"Goldpaw, thank you. It's beautiful!" Silverpaw praised him, gazing down at the necklace with pure interest. After this, she touched her friend's forehead with her muzzle like a Clan leader welcoming a new warrior.

But the good mood was quite soiled when Ashpaw's sarcastic voice growled from the lakeshore, "Good job, Goldpaw. Nice one. Perhaps you should go ahead and make jewelry instead of living like a warrior and saving the world!"

Goldpaw gazed at the dark gray tabby with amusement and replied, "Well, I don't see the harm in having both."

A small clip told the golden apprentice that Silverpaw was trying on her necklace, but he really wanted to be surprised. When he would see her with her new necklace, then he could give her his most honest opinion.

**(Author's Note: As in "Not onion!")**

Ashpaw stalked forward toward the water until the salmon's green head poked out from the water. It watched as Ashpaw lunged toward it and it dove underwater, splashing up some water at him while disappearing.

"Will you stop taunting me and be fresh-kill now?" Ashpaw snarled.

The dark gray tabby tom dove in again and started swimming around for his target. He dove underwater and came back up immediately with the salmon struggling in his jaws, his pale blue eyes glittering with triumph.

Goldpaw shook his head in a mock annoyed way. Sometimes Ashpaw could be so melodramatic when it came to catching fresh-kill. _A hunt is just a hunt, not a life-threatening situation, _the AirClan cats used to tell their kits and apprentices. But right now, it looked like Ashpaw had no trouble with bringing the salmon to the edge of the water.

"So how do I look?" Silverpaw asked from behind him.

As soon as she finished speaking, Goldpaw turned around to face her. But what he saw made his eyes nearly come out of his head and stare on in a stunned and magically speechless way.

**(Author's Note: Here it comes!)**

The silver WaterClan she-cat was sitting in a patch of sunlight with the sun striking her long fur, making it turn from silver-gray to pure white. Her tail was wrapped around her paws, her fur and whiskers were swaying in the wind, and her muzzle was touching the necklace around her neck. When she looked up at him, her dark blue eyes were filled with a bit of embarrassment, surprise, and friendliness at the same time as a bit of red showed up on her cheeks. Silverpaw looked _very_ beautiful.

Immediately, Goldpaw felt his heart hammer fast in his chest as he saw her in this new light. He knew he always liked Silverpaw and he always looked at her as if she was his best friend or even a sister. But now, she had turned from a best friend into a full-time crush.

_Am I...am I falling in love with Silverpaw? _Goldpaw wondered as he continued to stare at her with his jaws open. He knew that the Warrior Code forbade Clan cats from other Clans to be mates, but it really didn't matter anymore when the four new Clans came to be. Maybe there could be something going on between them.

Out loud, he shuffled his forepaws and replied to her, "Oh...you mean all of you, your fur, or...or your neck? They all look pretty."

As Silverpaw purred at him in response, Ashpaw ruined the good mood by going in between them and throwing the fish to the ground. The he pretended to touch noses with it, teasing the two cats in a singsong voice, "Goldpaw and Silverpaw, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

But then the salmon struck him on the nose with its tail and died on the spot.

"Um...uh..." Goldpaw mumbled in mild protest as he shuffled his forepaws again.

"Ashpaw, you smartass, don't tease him!" Silverpaw suddenly snapped, her eyes now glittering with annoyance at her brother. As Tobias flew down with a mouse in his talons, she patted Goldpaw on the head with her paw and purred softly, "Goldpaw's a really nice friend to have. He's a sweet guy...just like Tobias!" she added, patting the hawk on his head now.

Goldpaw suddenly felt disappointed and put down at that comment. He had been hoping that Silverpaw would see him more as a friend. "Gee, thanks."

As Ashpaw approached them with the dead salmon in his jaws, a sudden ominous sound like a shriek brought Tobias flying over on top of a boulder, cawing with alarm. Goldpaw followed him by climbing on top of the boulder and he saw what was happening over at the other side: a huge monstrous Diatryma was attacking a smiling gray tabby-&-ginger tomcat.

"Great StarClan! Some cat's being attacked by a Diatryma!" he yowled with alarm.

The purple Diatryma reared back and lunged at the loner with its cruel-looking beak glinting in the sunlight. The tomcat just continued to smile as he stepped casually out of the way of the ferocious prehistoric bird. He even stepped backwards when the monster bird turned around on the spot and lunged at him again.

"Greetings, young cats!" the tom called to Goldpaw as the golden cat jumped forward and was ready to defend him. "Sure is a beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Hurry! Get away from here and quick!" Goldpaw barked as he swiped his claws at the giant prehistoric bird, which gave an angry squawk and reared back. "Make some noise and flee! It'll flee, too!"

Silverpaw and Ashpaw came running up to their friend just in time as Ashpaw yelled out, "No, don't do that!" He stopped to breathe as he continued, "Play dead! It'll lose interest!"

_I don't think it'll work, _Goldpaw though mutinously as the Diatryma lunged again. But Goldpaw caught it by the neck and started to hang on as the creature bucked up and down to dislodge him. Its stubby wings were flapping around as it ran around in a circle before leaping at the loner tom once again.

As soon as he dodged again, the tomcat mewed, "Close one! Ha!"

The three Clan apprentices began yowling different bits of advice to him. Silverpaw went first by yowling, "Run down a hill and climb up a tree!"

Ashpaw went next by protesting, "That won't work! Claw him on the face!"

Goldpaw finished by adding, "And run from the left to the right!"

"There's no need, youngsters! I'm fine!" the tomcat reassured them, but they were far from reassured.

So they had no choice but to fight. Goldpaw was thrown off of the beast while Silverpaw dashed forward and sunk her fangs into the Diatryma's leg. It let out a squawk of anger and kicked her away, rearing back again and lunging at her. But Goldpaw and Ashpaw reached it by grabbing onto its neck and pinning it to the ground. Goldpaw wasn't going to let any living creature hurt Silverpaw!

The Diatryma let out a screech as it threw the two toms off of it and lunged for the gray tabby-&-ginger loner again, but Goldpaw leaped into the air and onto a boulder before leaping over the monster's head. While he did this, he once again zipped around it and placed himself between it and the loner. He whipped up a wall of air from his front paw, knocking the Diatryma backwards a little.

The Diatryma rushed toward, knocked Goldpaw to the ground, and pinned him there with a steely-clawed foot. But before it did the death blow, Goldpaw saw Archie rear up behind the bird and let out a massive roar. The Diatryma got off the Avatar Cat in alarm, laid an egg on the spot, and dashed away into the forest.

To Goldpaw's embarrassment, Ashpaw dashed forth with a bleeding ear as he laid his paws on the large egg, purring, "We got an appetizer, guys!" To the loner, he lifted his nose snootily in the air and sniffed, "Thank StarClan we came along to save you. You almost became bird food!"

"Thank you, but I handled the situation. And this 'StarClan' didn't help me, either," the bicolored tom meowed politely, dipping his head toward them. "Thanks to Aunt Wu, I was able to have a safe trip back to my village!"

"Aunt Who?" Goldpaw asked.

The loner shook his head and meowed, "Not Aunt _Who._ Aunt _Wu. _She is the local fortuneteller in the village up ahead. It's a pleasure at knowing your future and hoping it comes true!"

Silverpaw wagged her tail around as she smiled and purred, "Wow. It must be really great after all, since you were so calm." Goldpaw glanced around at her; he never told her that he had a pretty smile also with her looks.

"Hold the damn anchovies!" Ashpaw rudely intruded, pushing his way between his friends and facing the loner with contempt in his pale blue eyes. "I think this so-called 'fortuneteller' wasn't right after all! You weren't on a safe journey! You were almost killed by a monster killer bird!"

"Ah, but I _wasn't _killed," the loner replied, ruffling Ashpaw's head with his paw. The dark gray tabby pushed away as the loner went on, "Well, I must be off now. Ta-ta!" He turned around and walked away, his tail waving in a good-bye.

But he turned back around and added, "One more thing: Aunt Wu told me to give this to any cat I meet along the way." Goldpaw watched as the loner nudged a long wrapped thin package to his paws before waving good-bye and padding away from them.

Silverpaw sniffed the package and tore at the wrapping with a claw, mewing, "You know what? I think we should all see this Aunt Wu cat. That way, we can all learn about our futures! It'll be as fun as visiting a medicine cat!"

Ashpaw shook his head irritably and snapped, "Come on, you know I don't believe in that load of mouse-dung! I believe in StarClan, but it and fortunetelling are two different things!"

But Goldpaw didn't say anything. He knew that an ancient ThunderClan warrior named Cloudtail didn't believe in StarClan, but he was still a loyal warrior. Anyways, he and Silverpaw tore the wrapping off of the package. It was an orange umbrella, and it rolled out of the package at the two cat's paws.

"Wow! Would you look at that? It's an umbrella!" Goldpaw meowed with surprise and jollity.

All of a sudden, a freezing wind of snow blew down at the three cats and the whole ground was now covered in snow and sleet. As Goldpaw held up the umbrella in his jaws, Silverpaw looked up at the snow and smiled as she WaterBended it away in a shiny arc. "Yep. I knew something like this would happen," she meowed.

To Goldpaw's delight, she padded right under the umbrella and pressed her warm pelt next to his. Ashpaw was growling, "No, you didn't! You don't have any fortunetelling powers!"

"I guess you don't get snowed on a lot then," Silverpaw smirked as she and Goldpaw padded off in the direction of the town, their pelts pressed up against each other.

While Ashpaw was trying to carry the egg, it slipped out of his paws. In his attempts to grab it again, it flew up into the air and landed back on his head with a smash and a splatter. He didn't have anything now to protect himself from the blizzard.

**...**

While the three cats, dragon, and hawk traveled as a group through the blizzard, Goldpaw and Silverpaw were still huddled under the umbrella while Ashpaw was freezing his whiskers off in the snow. Tobias was bundled in a blanket of long feathers while Archie trudged along in the snow with the red-tailed hawk on his head. This was quite a trek, but as long as they were with each other, they would be okay.

"I really knew she was gonna predict snow," Ashpaw was grumbling. "I've just seen a patch of sunlight for just a few seconds today!"

Silverpaw rolled her eyes at him and retorted, "Come on! Why don't you just admit your mistake already so you can be under here with us? Don't be a dick!"

Ashpaw huffed, "Fine! I'll make my own prediction about the future!" He stood up on his hind legs and making strange gestures with his forepaws. He was mewing in an exaggerated voice, "I see that the snow will continue to fall." He glared at them with a look of defiance and scoffed, "I told you so!"

...and the sun came out. "Shit."

"It seems not all cats can have the gift," Goldpaw meowed, putting the umbrella away by tossing it over Archie's saddle. The dragon replied by shaking its fur like a dog and removing the melted snow. Ashpaw let out a yowl and leaped away from them in shock while Goldpaw and Silverpaw purred.

**...**

The three cats arrived at a village resting partly beneath the shadow of a snow-capped mountain. As the cats prowled into the town square, they looked around to find this Aunt Wu cat and to get out of the snow. In front of the circular door of one of the buildings, some sort of messenger with a white coat flecked with black spots greeted them.

"Aunt Wu has been waiting for you," he told them.

"Great! Thank you!" Silverpaw nodded back and the three padded inside while Ashpaw let out a snort of disgust.

When they got inside when they passed through the circular doorway, they saw that the room had three pillows that awaited them on the floor. The messenger cat dipped his head to them before backing out of the room and padded away. Goldpaw gave a loud and long yawn; to Silverpaw, he was quickly becoming bored.

A little meow made all three cats turn around to see where the noise was coming from. A small brown-&-cream tabby she-cat with long wiry fur and hazel eyes padded to them from the other room. Some of her long wiry fur had grown so long on her head that it stuck out on either side and looking like extra-large ears; she looked like she was a moon younger than Goldpaw.

"Greetings!" the small tabby mewed. "My name is Gold Breeze and I am Aunt Wu's helper! How may I help you?"

When she looked at Silverpaw and Ashpaw with interest, she stopped in her tracks when she saw Goldpaw. To Silverpaw, she seemed to be staring at the golden Avatar Cat the same way he saw her at the lake. But Goldpaw seemed to be spoiling the mood, for he looked very bored and cool complete with a hunched pose.

Gold Breeze shuffled her paws and purred, "Well, hello there, handsome."

"Hey," Goldpaw meowed coolly as he started scratching his ear with his hind leg. Silverpaw gave him a look; she felt that he should show some more manners.

Immediately, Gold Breeze snapped out of her trance and watched as Goldpaw and Silverpaw settled down in their pillows. She mewed to all three cats, "So would any of you like to have some cream or Aunt Wu's special rice shrimp puffs?"

"I'd like to try one of those puffs," Ashpaw spoke up.

Gold Breeze gave Ashpaw a weird look as she meowed to the three Clan cats, "Just a minute, please."

Silverpaw watched with a bit of embarrassment as Gold Breeze padded up to Goldpaw's pillow (for she wished that she would leave her friend alone) and mewed, "So what's your name?"

Goldpaw looked up at her and mewed, "Goldpaw."

"Almost like mine!" the small brown tabby squealed. While she purred with amusement, she suddenly gazed at Goldpaw's ears and mewed, "You know, you got some really big ears! They look almost like a rabbit's!"

"I...guess I do..." Goldpaw replied, looking rather confused. AirClan cats probably had some big ears back then. They were maybe used for hearing small prey running around the undergrowth or hearing predators sneaking up from behind the AirClan cat.

Ashpaw prowled to the front, sat in front of Goldpaw, and mewed, "Don't be meek, Goldpaw! They're the biggest things I've ever seen!"

To prove what he said, he stretched out his forelegs to make how big the ears were. That made Goldpaw glare angrily at his friend and he clamped his front paws over his ears as if to shrink them.

Gold Breeze gave an amused purr as she got up and began to pad away. Before she left, she turned to Goldpaw and purred, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Goldpaw. A _real_ pleasure."

"You too," Goldpaw meowed while nodding to her in a more warm manner. Gold Breeze nodded back and quickly darted out of the room, but Silverpaw could see her peeking around the corner to gaze back shyly at the golden Avatar Cat.

As soon as all three Clan apprentices settled down in their pillows, Ashpaw sat up and stared around the room for a few seconds. Then he yowled pretty loudly, "StarClan save us from this nuthouse of nonsense!"

"Just keep a calm and open mind," Silverpaw suggested to him as she curled up into a ball with her front paws underneath her. "StarClan gave us this planet because there are a lot of things that can't be explained. I even wonder if there's a being that's even more powerful than StarClan or the Three? It'd be awesome to see insight for your future, huh?"

"Well, _I_ think it'd be awesome to eat those shrimp puffs," Ashpaw retorted as he nibbled at his claw and tearing off the piece of skin that covered it.

Silverpaw gave him an annoyed glare, but she said nothing while she stared off into space. She wondered if her destiny was to become the greatest WaterBender there ever was; she could be Goldpaw's mentor at this. But she also couldn't help but wonder who her future mate would be.

A rolling of a wagon turned their attention to the open hallway, where Gold Breeze was pulling a small wagon full of shrimp puffs and cups of cream. But they seemed to know she had to stop somewhere else, for she went off to the side, and they saw why. A tortoiseshell-&-white she-cat with amber eyes had stopped by in front of them to talk with her friend.

"There you are, Gold Breeze!" the tortoiseshell meowed, her amber eyes and voice filled with hope and joy. "Aunt Wu had told me I'm going to meet my lifetime mate! And he's going to give me a rare White Tiger lily!"

"That's so romantic of him!" the brown tabby she-cat sighed as she turned to gaze at the three cats behind her, but especially Goldpaw. "You know, I wish _my_ own lifetime mate will share a rare flower with me."

Goldpaw meowed earnestly, "Good luck with that!"

The tortoiseshell she-cat looked up from talking to her friend and her voice was amused when she meowed, "So is that the big-eared tom Aunt Wu told you about? The one who'd be your lifetime mate?"

Her cheeks turning into a bright red, Gold Breeze nudged the tortoiseshell she-cat away from the doorway and continued to pull the wagon to the three Clan cats with her eyes still for Goldpaw. But when she tripped, Goldpaw dashed forward and helped her steady it up with his head. With surprise, he saw that both he and the tabby she-cat were touching noses as they carried the tray on their heads.

At first, they were staring into each other's eyes with gray eyes gazing into hazel. But Gold Breeze suddenly pulled away from him in embarrassment while the tray balanced a little wobbly-like on her head.

"Uh...enjoy the puffs!" she squeaked before leaping away in a hurry.

"Greetings, young Clan cats," an elderly female voice purred behind them. All three cats turned around to see an old dusky brown she-cat with green eyes and a green robe around her body pad to them. She had a very calm and serene look on her face with no look of spite. "Now which cat would like their fortune told? Don't be shy now."

Both tomcats looked very interested and Silverpaw was a little mad at them, not really believing them. _Are they really not going to be interested?_

So she stood up from her pillow, meowed "I guess I do," and followed Aunt Wu out of the room.

**...**

As Goldpaw and Ashpaw waited for Silverpaw to come back, Ashpaw took the bowl of shrimp puffs to his pillow and bit into one. His blue eyes widened as he meowed, "Mmm! Not bad! This reminds me of the crabs we ate back home!" He took the bowl and laid it down at Goldpaw's feet.

Goldpaw knew that his dark gray friend wanted to help, but he politely mewed, "No, thank you. I'm not that interested in those." Ashpaw gave a shrug, pulled them back to his pillow, and chowed down on them.

But Goldpaw didn't want to eat the puffs for two reasons: the first was that he didn't like the look of them, and the other was that he was waiting for Silverpaw. He hoped she had a really good fortune told...especially if it concerned mates.

"So what do you think they'll talk about?"

"I don't know," Ashpaw meowed while still eating. Goldpaw raised a brow at him, so he added, "They're probably gonna talk about that mushy romance stuff. Silverpaw might find out about what mate she'll have, how many kits she'll give birth to, and all that heap of fox-dung."

But when Ashpaw was talking about that, Goldpaw was suddenly feeling alarmed about his companion's predictions. He wanted to be the one to be Silverpaw's mate and the one to father her kits; besides, there could be a slim chance to revitalize AirClan with a mate, but he wasn't being self-seeking.

So he mewed, "Yep. That's really too mushy." As he licked his paw nervously, he suddenly had an idea. He could listen to what Silverpaw was being told by Aunt Wu. So he meowed, "Hold on, Ashpaw. I gotta take a piss. My bladder feels full."

Ashpaw gave him a nod and Goldpaw got up and dashed to the hallway, but he looked back to see Ashpaw dragging Goldpaw's pillow to his. He was now stretched out on both pillows, eating more puffs while Tobias picked up a stray puff and ate it.

_That Ashpaw, _Goldpaw muttered amusingly to himself.

Soon enough, Goldpaw was creeping down the hallway on his toes, trying to keep quiet so that he wouldn't get heard. He wanted to eavesdrop on them so that he could find out what his new crush had for her future. He stopped and pressed his ear slightly to one door as she heard Aunt Wu's voice.

"Your fur is so smooth and silky. Do you use any kind of shampoo on it?"

"Well, I have this kind of royal jelly from a bee's hive and it works like a charm!" Silverpaw's voice replied. "I can get you some."

Goldpaw stuck his tongue out in disgust, expressing his repulsion about shampoos; he hated the taste, but it was vital for larva bees.

He only stopped this when Silverpaw meowed, "So what about my love life? Who's going to be my mate?"

Immediately, Goldpaw pressed his ear more to the door and leaned in closer, hoping to hear more. His heart thudded fast when Aunt Wu mewed, "In your life, I can see great romance bloom like the brightest flower in the meadow. And the tom that will be your lifetime mate..."

Silverpaw's voice squealed, "Please tell me more!"

"I can tell your mate will be one powerful cat. Not only that, but a very powerful Bender!"

Goldpaw's heart beat a lot faster than usual at that. _It's going to come true after all! _the Avatar Cat thought as his look changed from one of nervousness to one of superior happiness.

He leaped up into the air and twisted around before landing and running back to the waiting room, feeling ecstatic over this news. Clearly there was no doubt in his mind as to what this prediction meant to him.

When he got into the waiting room with the pillows, Ashpaw was picking his teeth with his claw and there was the empty bowl of shrimp puffs right before him. Goldpaw decided to look like the ferret that ate the cardinal as his friend turned to him.

Ashpaw mewed, "So you really got a good load out of your system, eh?"

"Yep!" Goldpaw purred. "While I was in there-"

"Please save it for later," Ashpaw groaned, placing a paw onto his full belly and trying hard not to retch. "I just ate a whole bowl of shrimp puffs!"

The door opened and both Clan tomcats looked up to see Aunt Wu step out of the hallway with Silverpaw following her. Goldpaw's crush's face was etched with excitement and hope; Goldpaw hoped that it meant that she would be his mate.

Before Aunt Wu could even reply, Ashpaw stepped forward and snorted, "Well, let's get this dumb shit over and done with."

While Silverpaw gave her brother a hard stare, Aunt Wu shook her head and answered him, "Not now. Your future is full of struggling and wretchedness. But most of it will be self-inflicted."

"Aw, come on!" Ashpaw growled at her. "You didn't look into my eyes, see the pattern of my fur, or anything!"

"I don't need to...I can see it all on your face," the dusky brown she-cat retorted in a regretful tone. As Ashpaw lowered his head, for he wasn't pleased by this, she turned to Goldpaw and meowed, "All right then. _You _can come with me." She turned around and began to pad back into the hallway.

To Goldpaw's surprise, Silverpaw looked away from him while she mewed, "Good luck."

"Thanks."

As he padded back out with Aunt Wu, Silverpaw sat down while giving a hopeful sigh in his direction. But Ashpaw slumped down on his pillow and let out a frustrated sigh.

**...**

When Goldpaw and Aunt Wu entered the main chamber, Goldpaw stared around him with wonder.

It was a simple room with the four red pillars rising to the roof. The square made by the pillars was depressed into the floor by a small sum so you had to step down into the area where Aunt Wu and the guests sat down and talked about the future. In the center of the square was a small fire. Seven pillows lied at the four corners of the square. On the left was a small pitcher filled to the top with bones.

Aunt Wu and Goldpaw padded over to the pitcher and sat down in front of it. Then Aunt Wu began meowing, "This is one of the most reliable sources to tell your fortune. In the time of the Twolegs, ancient eastern Twolegs had used bones to tell the future. Go on; pick one out," she added, patting the pitcher with her paw.

Goldpaw glanced down at the bones with mild surprise. In AirClan, cats never used bones for anything but for cleaning their teeth. He felt that it was almost immoral to do this; he even remembered when Tigerstar from the ancient Clans built the Bonehill, a frightening hill made of bones of prey and cats.

But his feelings for Silverpaw won over, and he wanted to know about his love life. So he picked up a rabbit jawbone in his jaws.

"Good. Now toss it into the fire," Aunt Wu meowed on, and Goldpaw dropped the rabbit bone into the fire. Then the two cats sat down by the fire and gazed into it to see the bone burning a little. "To let you know, the high temperature will make some cracks in the bone and I'll read it to tell you your destiny."

Goldpaw nodded and stared back into the fire. He saw a spark leap onto the bone and lick its way around it from top to bottom. At this, a massive crack appeared right in the middle of the bone.

"That is one big crack," Aunt Wu meowed with mild surprise. But that mild surprise turned to great when her green eyes widened and she mewed, "I've never seen a bone do this before!"

Goldpaw looked around at the elderly fortuneteller with surprise and stared back into the fire. Sure enough, a larger crack appeared in the middle, almost ready to fall into small pieces at any given moment. Just then, the bone broke into many pieces, flew upwards toward the ceiling, and fell around them like snow.

"Oh my! How can this be?" Aunt Wu moaned with shock and a little bit of fear in her gaze and voice.

Goldpaw had no answer for that, for he felt a course of fear run through his AirClan veins. Was this a sign from StarClan that he and Silverpaw weren't to be together? Or was something worse about to happen?

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldpaw and Aunt Wu gazed with shock as the pieces of cracked bone scattered around the room around them. The silence after the flaming of the bone indicated the importance of what happened.

"Absolutely amazing!" Aunt Wu cried out. "It says you will be involved in a final fight for your life; it shall be the judgment of the forces of good and evil. It will be a final battle to determine the true master of the warrior world!"

Goldpaw found out already that this was his destiny: to find out if good or evil was to rule the world. But he didn't want to hear only that, so he asked her, "I know that already, but what about a she-cat?"

Aunt Wu stared intensely at the golden cat as she repeated, "A she-cat, you say? You wish to know about your love life? To see who will be your mate?"

"Yes, please!"

Aunt Wu looked around the scattered burnt pieces of bone and mewed with regret, "I am sorry, young one, but I see nothing about your love life."

As she gazed at him kindly, Goldpaw flattened his ears, upset about this piece of bad news. He thought to himself sadly, _Looks like my chance with Silverpaw is done._

"But wait! I missed one!" Goldpaw looked up to see Aunt Wu slap her forehead with her paw in an act of mea culpa. She was padding over to a sliver of bone, picking it up in her jaws, and carrying it back to him. The dusky she-cat laid it down onto the floor and read, "It says, 'Trust in your heart and you will be the one to share love with.'"

"Really?" Goldpaw asked her, his heart once again beating with excitement. Maybe there was a chance with Silverpaw after all! "Thanks so much, Aunt Wu!"

He dipped his head to her politely and then dashed off to join his friends. The two WaterClan cats had been waiting outside of the building. He knew that AirClan cats were to never let love get in the way of their duty, but he couldn't help but betray them.

**...**

Once they got together (including Archie and Tobias), they all padded further into the main square together. Archie's massive footsteps echoed through the following conversation while Tobias glided overhead of them as he circled around a few times.

"I'm glad you got to see fortunetelling as a big stupid fat fantasy!" Ashpaw crowed as he strolled beside his sister while sliding around in the snow.

Silverpaw rolled her eyes and flicked her tail sharply at him. "Are you saying this because you wanna be unhappy for the rest of your life?"

Ashpaw shook his head angrily, and he finally exploded with anger. He blocked the way and growled, "Hell no! It's just...she's nothing but a crazy mouse-heart! My life will be calm, quiet, and happy just like yours!"

But this apparently wasn't entirely true, for he was getting more upset with each successive statement. He ended it by tossing a small stone off the ground with his paw, and it rebounded off a nearby sign and hit him on the head, knocking him on his back. Ashpaw let out growls as he glared up at the sign.

As the two other cats padded around him, purring, the dark gray tabby tom got to his paws and added in a vain tone, "Yuck it up all you want, you two, but this STILL doesn't prove anything!"

"Whatever," Silverpaw retorted, but her blue eyes were filled with amusement. Then her tail started twitching with hope when she stopped and meowed, "I really liked the predictions I got. Things are going to be really great and onwards!"

"Yep," Goldpaw agreed with her in a knowing voice. When Silverpaw was about to ask him what Aunt Wu told him, Goldpaw added, "You don't need to know right away, 'cause it's just stuff. You'll find out soon."

Silverpaw just gave a shrug and padded onwards to a gathering crowd of cats.

The large crowd was gathering at its center where a covered stage resided. Goldpaw and his small pack approached the crowd from the rear. Most of the cats standing or sitting around were looking up in silence, and they were amazed to see that the calm gray tabby-&-ginger tom they saved from the Diatryma was one of these spectators.

Since they were all staring up at the sky, Silverpaw glanced up at it. Goldpaw looked up too, and he saw that it was nice and sunny, but Silverpaw asked anyone around them, "So what's up with the sky?"

"Ah, it's you three again!" the calm loner greeted them. He looked up at the sky and explained to them, "You see, all of us are waiting for Aunt Wu to come and read the clouds to forecast the outcome of the entire village."

"Hey, look!" Goldpaw suddenly meowed, pointing his muzzle to one cloud. "That cloud looks just like a cute little terrier puppy!"

Suddenly, the calm gray tabby-&-ginger cat gave them a strange look and replied, "You better not hope that's a cute little terrier puppy! For that cloud is the cloud that spells disaster, grief, and obliteration."

"Uh, are you paying attention to yourself?" Ashpaw asked him, rudely interrupting him and not recognizing him.

The calm loner gave the WaterClan apprentice an annoyed look and stalked away from them to sit near a couple of other cats. They were all talking actively to one another and whispering with purrs mixed in. Goldpaw pricked up his ears and dropped them as a gray tabby queen with two kits bouncing around her joined up with them.

While the kits sniffed at Goldpaw and Silverpaw, trying to find their scents, the gray tabby queen meowed to the apprentices, "Reading the clouds will help let us know whether Haleakalā will erupt today or stay dormant for another four seasons."

"We once had an annual custom of going up the mountain to check the volcano all by ourselves," the bicolored tom added, padding back to the group. "But we now have a custom of not doing it ever since Aunt Wu moved to the village two years ago."

At this, Ashpaw's fur bristled until he looked like a dark gray ball of fur with darker stripes. Goldpaw could tell that he was infuriated, but he kept it to himself. He was a bit interested at gazing at the two kits, wondering what kits he and Silverpaw could create: golden-furred like their father or silver-pelted like their mother.

Ashpaw stalked forward again and spat, "Are you always gonna believe what some crazy bitch tells you? All cloud-fluff and no sense?"

"Shh!" Silverpaw hissed to Ashpaw with impatience. "She's coming over to the stage!"

Goldpaw had to look over his friend's heads to see the fortuneteller since he was quite a short cat. In the center of the town square, Aunt Wu was approaching the stage with Gold Breeze and the messenger cat padding behind her. Instantly, the crowd of cats parted a little to let them through. Despite being old, the dusky brown she-cat managed to leap quickly onto the stage with one big leap.

Tobias flew to the three travelers and landed on Goldpaw's head as all the cats of the village began to cheer. But he felt a wiry pelt brush against his and he turned around to see Gold Breeze standing next to him.

The brown tabby she-cat was pointing her muzzle to the sky and purred in a dreamy voice, "Hey, Goldpaw. Doesn't that cloud up there look like a flower?"

"Uh, yeah," Goldpaw muttered, padding away from her and sitting next to Silverpaw. He pointed his muzzle into the air and meowed, "Hey, Silverpaw. Doesn't that cloud up there look like a flower?"

"Shh!" was all Silverpaw said.

_Damn it!_

He focused his gaze onto Aunt Wu, who was already in the middle of the stage. She dipped her head to the crowd, took a deep breath, and stood on her haunches as she raised both paws to the sky; she was pointing to an arrow-shaped cloud. The elderly she-cat got back down from her position and was flipping through a book on the stage.

"The bending arrow-shaped cloud," Aunt Wu announced to the crowd, "means that there will be a great harvest, good crops, and good hunting this year!" At this, two elderly cats, one brown and the other dark gray, rubbed their noses together with joy.

She looked through the book again, lifted her muzzle, and announced, "The crescent moon cloud means that there will be a good year for twin brothers!" At this, two ginger toms, so identical that it was hard to tell them apart, butted heads with optimism.

"And a nimbus cloud with a strange knob..." Aunt Wu meowed on. "It means the volcano will not destroy the village this exact year!"

When this announcement rang out, all the cats in the crowd began to cheer for her. Goldpaw decided that this was the perfect time to tell Silverpaw what he really felt about her. His cheeks going red, he turned around to look at her.

"Hey, Silverpaw," Goldpaw began, clearing his throat out and shuffling his paws. "Since we're here now, I wanna tell you something. I know that I've liked you as a friend, but in the past few days, I feel a lot more than that. Silverpaw...I think...I'm in love with you."

But to his bitter disappointment, the sweet silver apprentice wasn't listening; instead she was still looking at Aunt Wu with some kind of yearning in her gaze. Then she got up from her spot and ran ahead to the stage to meet up with the elderly fortuneteller, leaving him alone. Goldpaw was crushed.

"Never mind," he mumbled as he looked on at her and Tobias flew down from his head to the ground, looking down also.

**...**

Silverpaw kneaded the ground with her paws as she eagerly waited for Aunt Wu to come out of her den. She wanted to know about the many things of her future and she wanted to know about her future mate...whoever he was. So she gave the door another tapping with her paw and sat down to wait.

As Aunt Wu pushed open the door gently, Silverpaw greeted her, "Hi, Aunt Wu. I hope I wasn't disturbing you."

"Ah, it's all right," Aunt Wu purred as she opened the door a little. "So what can I do for you today?"

"I want to know more about this tomcat who will be my future mate," she began as she blushed with embarrassment. She suddenly started to jump around a little on her spot as she lashed her tail around. "Who is he? I hope he's hot! And I _really_ hope he's tall!"

The elderly dusky she-cat nodded to her and mewed, "Ah, so you wish to hear another reading?"

Silverpaw stood up and meowed right away, "Yes, please!"

With a nod, Aunt Wu stepped out of the way to let Silverpaw into her den and closed it behind them.

**...**

Back in the town square, Goldpaw and Ashpaw were walking around; actually, Ashpaw was stalking around the town in a bad mood. He was just like that when all three heard Aunt Wu's predictions. Goldpaw had followed him, asking him what was wrong, but at first, he only got muttering as a reply.

"I can't believe all these dumbasses are listening to that heap of mouse-dung!" Ashpaw finally snapped as he glared at the cats around him. "Someone needs to teach them common sense!"

"But they seem happy," Goldpaw protested. It was true; all the cats in the village looked happy.

Ashpaw just scoffed, "Not when I prove to them about this heresy!" Stalking up to a creamy ginger tom, he barked, "You there! Did Aunt Wu tell you to paint your claws pink?"

"Yes, she did!" the tom meowed, unsheathing his claws to reveal claws dyed pink. He sheathed them as he went on, "She told me that when I meet my true mate-for-life, I'd have pink claws!"

Ashpaw snorted again, clearly not believing what he was told. So he went on, "How long ago did you paint your claws pink?"

The tom replied, "As soon as she told me."

Goldpaw padded up to join the conversation, but he saw Ashpaw's eyes blazing with a blue fire, so he stepped out of the way as his friend screeched, "THEN OF COURSE IT'S GONNA COME TRUE, DUMBASS!"

Far from being shocked at Ashpaw's yelling, the tomcat's eyes widened with joy and exclaimed, "You really think so? Oh, I'm so happy!"

Goldpaw watched with some amusement when Ashpaw kicked a stone on the ground with his back paw in anger. But it hit a mallard duck nearby, which soon flew up onto his shoulders and started to annoy him by quacking angrily. The dark gray tabby tom crawled away with the duck expressing its annoyance noisily.

_He seems to attract a lot of trouble lately._

**...**

"...and when you pass away peacefully in your sleep at a ripe old age, you will live to see your third great-grandkit being born."

Silverpaw watched with great surprise in the reading room as she drunk in every word Aunt Wu meowed to her. It was all very exciting for her, and she wanted to keep the reading forever.

She got up from the couch and meowed, "Great StarClan, that's amazing! Thank you again!" When she started to walk to the door, she suddenly turned back around and asked her, "Hold on. I need another thing. Should I wear Twoleg cloths outside tomorrow or stay with my fur?"

"Do you really want a reading like that?" Aunt Wu mewed to her, looking quite bowled over.

The silver WaterClan cat nodded earnestly to her. But she didn't know that she had a large and slightly scary smile on her face.

**...**

"I DON'T CARE WHAT SHE TOLD YOU! YOU GOTTA GROOM YOUR FUR SOON! OR TAKE A BATH, DAMN IT!"

Ashpaw looked clearly out of his mind as he stopped to screech at a cat so covered with mud and dung that it was hard to tell what fur color he had. As Goldpaw held his breath to repel the stink, the cat grunted, nodded his acceptance at Ashpaw, and padded away, leaving dirty paw prints behind.

As he released his breath, Goldpaw decided to ask him something. Ashpaw was always quite the speaker at what he knew well about. "Hey, Ashpaw. Do you know anything about she-cats?"

He expected Ashpaw to yowl, but he instead smiled at him smugly and meowed to him, "Oh yeah! I know plenty of stuff about them! You've come to the right place!" He laid his tail onto the Avatar cat's shoulder and patted his head in a conspiratorial way. "What'cha want?"

"Well..." Goldpaw began as he looked down at the ground in an uncomfortable way. "There's this...she-cat I like and..." He stopped to look over Ashpaw's shoulder at a slight giggle. There was Gold Breeze, sitting on top of a barrel at the far end of the square and staring at him in a dreamy way. Wanting to listen to Ashpaw, he ignored her.

"I know who you're talking about," Ashpaw told him.

Goldpaw stared at him with amazement. "You do? And you're really okay with that?"

Ashpaw nodded and meowed, "Yep! And I gotta tell you this: I see with my own two eyes that she likes you back."

"She likes me?" Goldpaw asked him with hope, ignoring Gold Breeze jumping up and down and trying to get his attention.

"Hell yeah, Goldpaw! She's gone wild for you!" Ashpaw responded. But he meowed in a quite lowered voice, "So don't you dare goof up. That's important." At seeing the confusion on the AirClan cat's face, he added, "But the number one thing that makes toms goof up with she-cats is being too nice and soft."

Goldpaw tipped his head to one side with confusion as his whiskers twitched. _Toms can be too nice? _Ashpaw must have seen the shock on his face, for he continued, "Uh-huh. I know it's hard, but it's true. Act aloof and cool if you wanna get her attention and keep her absorbed. You know, like you don't care one way or another."

"Okay," Goldpaw meowed.

"Hey, Goldpaw..." Gold Breeze suddenly meowed in a seducing way, padding up behind him.

But Goldpaw turned away and padded off, meowing in a cool tone, "See ya later."

That left Gold Breeze sighing sadly and Ashpaw stare after him with confusion before meowing, "Wow. He's a natural!"

**...**

As Goldpaw padded around the corner, he heard a door open and he dashed to the corner of the den and peeked out from the corner. He could see Aunt Wu nudging Silverpaw out of her den and the elder had an exhausted look on her face. _This must be her den, _Goldpaw thought to himself.

"...and if you wear boots, your paws won't get cold," Aunt Wu was meowing in an exhausted and hurried voice. It seemed that Silverpaw had worn her out with all the questions she had in store.

"All right, thanks!" Silverpaw yelped as Aunt Wu gave her a warning nip, making her leap out into the street. But she had one more question, which made the dusky she-cat sigh: "When I have breakfast tomorrow, should I eat tuna or halibut?"

Aunt Wu gave another heavy sigh and muttered loudly, "Halibut! Good-bye!" At that, she padded back inside and slammed the door shut.

Silverpaw sighed, swiped at the dirt at her paws in a bad-tempered manner, and whined, "Shit. I HATE halibut."

Goldpaw had leaped up onto the building to get a better view. He decided that this was the best chance he got at impressing her with his aloofness. So he bunched his muscles, leaped down from the roof, and landed in front of Silverpaw. She just gave him a harassed look and padded away quickly.

"Oh, hey, Silverpaw," he meowed to her, trying to sound as cool as he could. "I didn't see you roaming around here."

"Hey, Goldpaw. Catch ya later," she meowed without looking back as she dashed off.

Goldpaw lifted his muzzle at where she was going and called after her, "Don't worry about it! I often get busy with my own stuff."

But he was disappointed that she didn't notice him. To make things weirder, the same duck from before landed next to him and quacked at him.

But he decided not to give up, so he followed her over to a fish shop where Silverpaw was at. Goldpaw wondered how these cats could catch fish when there wasn't any water nearby, but he remembered the lake they were at some time ago. The cats of the village must have gone over to the lake to fish occasionally.

Silverpaw took one look at the flat fish in front of her, its eyes to one side instead of one eye on each side. She shuddered while saying, "Eww. One lake halibut, please," she meowed to the merchant.

Goldpaw padded past two cats, a gray tabby tom and a ginger-&-white she-cat, that were talking in the square and sat next to Silverpaw. That was just in time when the merchant handed her a halibut. He gazed down at the fish before meowing coolly to his new crush, "So...halibut, huh?"

"Yep," Silverpaw meowed, putting the halibut in a bag around her neck. Goldpaw was a little disappointed to see that she wasn't wearing the necklace he made for her. But he pushed it away when she asked him, "Why'd you ask? You want some halibut?"

"Ah, come on. You know me more, Silverpaw," Goldpaw replied in an aloof tone, picking up an anchovy in his jaws and setting it onto the ground carelessly. "I don't care what I eat. As long as others get food to eat."

Silverpaw nodded and padded away, calling over her shoulder, "I'll see you later!"

The silver she-cat turned around and padded away out of view while Goldpaw took a huge bite out of the anchovy. He choked on it a little and spat it back up, clearly hating the taste.

"Ashpaw was wrong. Maybe aloof isn't my thing," he muttered to himself as he buried his fish. StarClan would be upset at him for wasting the prey.

Suddenly, he heard giggling behind him and turned to see the gray tabby tom and the ginger-&-white she-cat he passed before. The gray tabby tom had some kind of gorgeous black-&-white flower in his jaws and he placed it behind his partner's ear.

"Oh! It's a White Tiger Lily!" she squealed as she rubbed noses with her new mate.

Goldpaw was amazed and touched by that. "Did you see that, Tobias?" he asked his hawk.

This was proof that those two cats were meant to be together and the same could happen to him and Silverpaw. So he padded to them and placed himself between them, ruining the moment and surprising both cats. He pointed his muzzle to the flower, ignoring the confused looks on their faces.

"Sorry to interrupt you, but where do you get that kind of flower?"

"Up over near the volcano," the tabby tom replied.

**...**

Goldpaw leaped over one boulder at a time on the mountain while Ashpaw had to drag himself over one by one. He was thankful he was an AirClan cat because AirClan cats were born with speed and jumping skills. He could thank ThunderClan, WindClan, and SkyClan for the skills he had today.

"You're dragging me up here just to find a damn flower?" Ashpaw panted as he climbed over another boulder and wheezed for breath.

"Come on! It's not just a flower, Ashpaw!" Goldpaw mewed as he fruitfully leaped onto another rock. "I'm gonna get a White Tiger Lily! I've seen one of those down at the village. It works like a charm!"

As Ashpaw came up to join him, he meowed, "Sure, flowers are great things...at mating rituals or used in medicine! In training, it's important to go up to maximum aloofness! Up to the top!"

Goldpaw shook his head. Last time it worked, he ate a fish he hated to eat. So he meowed, "It didn't work last time. And besides, my heart tells me to collect this flower! Aunt Wu told me to trust my heart and I'll be with the cat to share love with."

_"What?"_ Ashpaw squealed so loudly that he almost fell from his rock. Goldpaw reached forward, grabbed his fore paw, and pulled him back just in time.

But when he got back up, Ashpaw pushed him back and asked him curtly, "You believe in this lying shit, too?"

"She hasn't been wrong yet. Why should she be wrong about love?" Goldpaw retorted as he got onto another rock. He kept climbing up while Ashpaw slowly made his way up after him.

Suddenly, he dropped him onto the rock and he pointed his muzzle to the top, meowing, "It's up there!"

He padded up the part where it became smooth and he sniffed the air a little. There was a scent of flowers in the air and he found some: White Tiger Lilies. The black-&white flowers were dotting the rim of the mountain. A fiery glow emanated from the caldera below, but he didn't notice. He picked up a flower in his jaws and breathed in its sweet scent, closing his eyes in contentment.

A bright glow went through his eyelids, and he opened his eyes when he looked down into the volcano. The caldera was full of bubbling lava, ready to burst at any given moment.

With horror, Goldpaw yowled for Ashpaw to come with him and see the lava. But when he yowled, he had dropped the flower into the lava, where it burst into flames and burned into a crisp.

As both toms gazed down into the volcano, Goldpaw rasped, "Aunt Wu was wrong after all! The volcano IS going to erupt!"

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldpaw and Ashpaw stared down into the bottom of the volcano with fear and alarm in their gray and blue eyes. _How could Aunt Wu be so wrong? __Did StarClan use the explosion of the bone to tell me of the eruption of the volcano?_

"Aunt Wu told them they'd be all safe from this. But she was wrong," Ashpaw moaned with fear. Then he began climbing down the boulders with a determined look on his face. "Come on. We gotta warn them."

Goldpaw leaped down next to him and shook his head, mewing, "We don't have any time to walk down there. Get onto my back," he added as he opened his glider and placed it onto his back.

Ashpaw did just that, and Goldpaw took off into the air while his friend let out wails of surprise. The golden Avatar Cat knew his WaterClan friend wasn't used to flying yet, but he would get some time to learn how.

As they approached the village, they crashed into the town square, shook the dirt out of their fur, and rushed over to Aunt Wu's house. They could see Silverpaw irritably pacing around at the outside. She actually looked more hopeful than irritated as she paced up and down and made a little circle in the dirt.

"Hey, Silverpaw," Goldpaw meowed to her, forgetting that he was going to flirt with her.

"Hey, Goldpaw," Silverpaw replied before glaring back at the door. "Can't you believe this shit? She won't let me in now! I've even given her all the business I could!"

Goldpaw gave her a confused look and he meowed, "But she doesn't charge you."

Silverpaw retorted, "Yeah, but still!"

Ashpaw gave Goldpaw a nod and he nodded back. Ashpaw stepped forward and meowed with urgency in his voice, "Silverpaw, you gotta listen to us. We got other things to worry about than charges and business. Aunt Wu was completely wrong about the volcano. It's gonna erupt!"

"Honestly, Ashpaw?" Goldpaw could hear a bit of impatience in the silver she-cat's tone. "You keep saying Aunt Wu was wrong about everything. But now it's gonna take more than a dormant volcano to-"

But she didn't have a chance to finish, for she was cut off by the sound of the volcano erupting to life. All three cats turned around to see that the volcano was already becoming very dangerous, as it had a full plume of ash and smoke stretching up to the heavens. Silverpaw let out a wail of dismay as Goldpaw realized that she saw that there was something wrong indeed.

They had to warn the villagers of this volcano. They had to.

**...**

Goldpaw, Silverpaw, and Ashpaw waited until the cat of the village had gathered around the stage they were standing on. They had called them forward to tell them what they had learned about the volcano. Normally, the village cats would get angry if Aunt Wu or their chief weren't the ones making broadcasts, but they were now curious about the Clan cats.

"Everyone, listen to me!" Ashpaw was announced, making Goldpaw believe that now was the chance for the dark gray cat to tell them he was right. "The volcano up on top of the mountain is going to erupt any second from now. Aunt Wu was wrong about her prediction!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah," a pale brown she-cat yawned with disinterest. "Everyone here knows you don't believe in Aunt Wu...Mr. Science-And-Reason-Is-Awesome mouse-brain!"

Silverpaw let out a growl that made Goldpaw flinch a little. He remembered when Silverpaw had made fun of Ashpaw by telling him he would never be a good leader with purely "instincts." But it seemed she wanted to defend her brother now from the rebelling crowd to make up for it.

The silver WaterClan she-cat snapped, "Well, if you smartasses won't listen to my Clanmate, then you can listen to me! I know I once wanted to believe in Aunt Wu's predictions as much as you do, but my brother and Goldpaw went up there and saw it for themselves!"

Goldpaw looked away from her as fast as he could. He didn't want to tell her he was climbing up onto the volcano just to get her a flower. But the security of a village and its cats were more important than a flower.

But the composed gray tabby-&-ginger tom meowed, "Well, I was one of many who heard the prediction with their own ears!" At this, everyone began muttering to themselves and casting looks of suspicion at the three apprentices.

Goldpaw felt very fed up with their ignorance and their refusal to listen to him and his friends. So leaped onto the roof of Aunt Wu's house with AirBending and let out a loud yowl for them all to quiet down.

"Will everyone shut the hell up and listen?" he screeched. "Every cat here is in great danger! You all have to leave this town straight away and quickly! Aunt Wu's predictions can't protect you forever! Take your fate into your own paws!"

As another eruption erupted, Ashpaw prowled forward and pointed his muzzle to the volcano, adding, "Look up there! Can fortunetelling explain that?"

"Can science explain why it snows?" a black cat retorted as snow began to fall slowly to the ground once again.

"Y-yes! Yes it can!"

Regrettably, the crowd was not convinced and began to disperse to their homes, leaving the three cats in the snow. Goldpaw dropped his gaze to the ground and began lamenting in his mind. _Why are they too stubborn to listen to us?_

"Can you believe it? Those cats are too stubborn to listen!" Silverpaw hissed with exasperation.

"But they'll listen to Aunt Wu," Goldpaw reminded her as he leaped down from the house and onto the ground.

"Well, that's good and all, but that's the problem," Ashpaw spat mockingly, following him down.

Suddenly, Goldpaw had an idea. They would listen to Aunt Wu, but something different could change that. He mewed, "We'll turn it into the solution. If they won't take fate into their paws, then _we_ will. But first, we'll have to steal Aunt Wu's weather book. Don't worry," he added as he saw the look of shock on Silverpaw's face. "We'll give it back."

**...**

As Goldpaw grasped another bit of wall with his claws, he looked down to see Silverpaw and Ashpaw gazing up at him at their guard posts. Goldpaw saw, by the looks on their faces, that they hated to steal, but this was very important to save the village. It appeared that StarClan had shattered the bone not only to tell him his destiny, but to warn him.

Goldpaw finally leaped through the top balcony and padded into the bedroom. He lifted his muzzle into the air and sniffed for a scent of something that Aunt Wu used recently. As he peeked under the nest, Tobias, who had followed him, let out a squawk.

"Tobias, shush!" Goldpaw hissed quietly as he lowered himself to the ground. "Do you want us to get caught?"

But Tobias kept on cawing, so Goldpaw had to give in and lowered his head. However, as he peered around the polished gong, he looked into it and was shocked to see a familiar brown cat looking at him.

Goldpaw looked around quickly and saw that it was Gold Breeze; the young brown-&-cream she-cat had a look of surprise on her face. He started to search for ways to get around her without letting her know about their mission.

"Sorry. I didn't see you there," he began.

Gold Breeze didn't answer, but she looked down with sadness in her hazel eyes. Not only that, but the long pieces of head fur were now drooping to match her mood. "You don't like me, do you?" she murmured.

Goldpaw nudged her gently with his muzzle and mewed, "Don't be silly. Of course I like you!"

"But it's not the way I like you."

"I suppose."

Gold Breeze looked up at him again and mewed, "No need to worry. It's not easy if you really like someone but they don't like you the same way."

Goldpaw had his turn to look down as he muttered sadly, "I know the way you feel." He was thinking about Silverpaw and wondered if she really didn't like him back. It was perhaps a sign that cats from other Clans couldn't be together after all.

"Anyways, she's so beautiful." Gold Breeze's meow made Goldpaw look up at her in surprise. The tabby she-cat shuffled her paws as she meowed, "I'm talking about the silver WaterClan she-cat. Now I see why you like her a lot." She tapped her paw on the ground a few times to count the reasons: "She's kind, she's beautiful, she's a WaterBender, and she had sleeker fur than mine."

At that, Gold Breeze twisted around and tried to groom the wiry fur on her pelt, but it wasn't smoothed. This made her look down in defeat and compassion filled Goldpaw's heart like water filling a hole in the ground. He padded over to her, licked her gently on the ear, and looked into her eyes gently.

"Look, I promise you this," he mewed. "One day, you'll meet a tomcat who will love you back, and that's a promise."

He gave her another lick on the ear; this made her look up with hope in her hazel eyes. "Thank you," she purred before watching the golden Avatar Cat pad away. "Hold on there. You want this?"

At this, she reached under the floorboard, pulled out a heavy red book, and pushed it to Goldpaw.

"How'd you know?" Goldpaw asked her, taking the book into his jaws and padding to the window.

"Uh..." Gold Breeze mumbled, twitching her tail nervously. "Uh...the truth is that I was stalking you while you were here." She blushed with embarrassment.

Goldpaw also blushed at that; he was almost tempted to accept being her mate. But he felt that his true mate would be Silverpaw, now and forever. Besides, he and Gold Breeze could just be friends after this. "Oh. Thank you again."

**...**

Gold Breeze also helped distract Aunt Wu by offering to take her on a walk. That left the three Clan apprentices running off onwards to Archie. While Goldpaw and Silverpaw let the dragon fly upwards to the sky, Ashpaw went back to the village to fetch Aunt Wu to let her see what was happening.

Anyways, Goldpaw glanced up at the sky and, remembering what he learned about clouds the eve of the solstice, explained to Silverpaw, "Clouds are made of a mixture of water and air. So between the two of us, we should Bend them into any shape we want."

"True," Silverpaw replied as she pointed at a skull-shaped cloud formation in the book. "This cloud here is the symbol of volcanic doom."

So both cats began to Bend the clouds with their tails and forepaws. While they were Bending the clouds, Goldpaw stopped a little when he saw Silverpaw. She was gracefully Bending with ease, her blue eyes shining and her silver pelt rippling in the breeze.

_She's so...so...beautiful. And kind and strong, too._

When they returned to the ground, they could see the cats of the village look up to see the clouds shifting. Ashpaw was escorting Aunt Wu over to her stage as fast as he could and pointing his tail to the sky.

"Aunt Wu, look up there!" the WaterClan tom was meowing urgently.

As the skull-shaped cloud formed in the sky, Aunt Wu was retorting wearily, "It is rather strange. Are you sure that-oh!"

She was cut off as she glanced up at the sky, where the skull cloud that Goldpaw and Silverpaw had finished was finally finished forming. And as if that wasn't enough, the volcano near the village erupted again. Goldpaw took the chance to leap onto the stage and let out a yowl of silence as they started to yowl with fright.

"Everyone listen up!" he called. "We can all save the village if we act fast and work together! My friend Ashpaw here has a plan!"

Ashpaw looked mildly surprise at being brought to the front by his Avatar Cat friend. But he cleared his throat and announced, "Lava will be flowing straightforward to this exact spot. We can guide all the lava away from the village right down to the river if we dig a deep enough ditch."

"Yes. Any EarthBenders come with me!" Goldpaw added, padding to Ashpaw's side.

The two ginger tom kits from earlier were sprinting forwards and mewing at the same time: "I'm a Bender!" "I'm not a Bender!"

"Every other cat unsheathe your claws and dig very hard-" Ashpaw was meowing. But at the sound of the volcano erupting again, he yowled, "We gotta hurry! Let's go, go, GO!"

Immediately, every cat leaped into action and started working as fast as lightning. Archie and the cats of the village worked hard to dig the trench, using both EarthBending and physical means, including their claws. Another explosion showed that the volcano was erupting yet again, now spewing lava, and the sky was starting to blacken with smoke and ash.

When this happened, Ashpaw yowled loudly, "Hurry! Dig faster!"

And the two young ginger cats completed creating a trench that connected each ends of the town. Goldpaw felt a little irritated that one of the twins lied to him being a non-EarthBender, but now wasn't the time for scolding. Instead, he flicked his tail to the entrance of the town.

"Everyone, out of this village!" he yowled. "We'll come back once it's safe!"

At that, every cat except for the small pack fled for the safety of the outside of the village.

Once the three Clan cats approached the erupting volcano, the air was dark with ash and smoke. Lava engulfed the main gate and it began to melt away. The world had now taken on the ghostly red shade of the lava, which now passed through the burial grounds, consuming headstones as it flowed downhill. The lava reached the trench and began to fill rapidly, its progress momentarily halted.

"Damn!" Goldpaw turned to see Silverpaw glance down the trench with dismay. "There's too much lava in here! It'll overflow!"

Another explosion rocked the entire village like a huge earthquake. Burning debris began to rain down in addition to the ash. Both Silverpaw and Ashpaw began to run off, but Silverpaw turned around in confusion and fear to see that Goldpaw hadn't moved from his spot. A huge boulder fell right out of the sky as fast as a meteor and landed in the trench, exploding. But this didn't make him run away just yet.

Just then, Goldpaw let out a furious battle screech and began rushing forward. He launched himself into the air, used a false Battouga to land on a deserted spot, and began to AirBend. As the lava began to overspill, Goldpaw used his tail to blow the lava up, rather than going to the village.

Finally, he drew in a powerful intake of breath and expelled it hard, AirBending it as it left and cooling all the lava to stone. Goldpaw panted as he relaxed and sat down as he stared at the small yet less risky streams of lava flow by Right now, he appeared to be calming himself after the hard energy he made.

The two WaterClan cats were now watching in awe, the mountain still obviously erupting, but it was no longer threatening the village. Silverpaw stared on at her friend with awe; she had no idea he had that much power despite being an Avatar Cat.

Ashpaw was mewing, "Great StarClan! You know, I sometimes forget what a powerful Bender that cat is."

"Wait, what was that?" Silverpaw asked him, turning to face him. Her expression changed at this, remembering Aunt Wu's words.

"Eh? Oh, nothing. I'm just saying that Goldpaw is one powerful Bending cat," was Ashpaw's reply.

Silverpaw looked over at Goldpaw, who was still wreathed in red glow of the lava still seething behind the stone shield Goldpaw had created. Suddenly, she remembered Aunt Wu's prediction: _I can tell that your mate will be one powerful cat. Not only that, but also a very powerful Bender! _Now she stared at Goldpaw in a new light.

Was he, the Avatar Cat, to become her mate?

"Yes...he is..."

**...**

The next morning after the volcanic eruption ended, Aunt Wu had called all the other cats over to the stage in the square. They were all going to praise the three Clan apprentices for warning them of the eruption. However, Goldpaw padded forward with a sheepish look on his face as he dropped the book at the brown she-cat's paws.

"Aunt Wu, I'd like to give this back to you. We kinda...'borrowed' it."

"So it was YOU who altered the clouds!" Aunt Wu spat as she scooped it away from him.

Goldpaw cringed with fear of being yelled at more and he turned around to his friends behind him. Silverpaw looked guilty and Ashpaw happily nudged her over, showing her part in the plan.

However, fortunately, Aunt Wu's anger was replaced by amusement as she purred, "You are one clever cat, young one!"

"No offense to anyone," Ashpaw meowed, addressing Aunt Wu and the cats of the village, "but I hope this teaches everyone not to rely on fortunetelling too much. Why do you think StarClan gave us medicine cats?"

Then the calm gray tabby-&-ginger cat called out, "But Aunt Wu told us the volcano wouldn't destroy the village, either. And it wasn't, so she was right after all!"

This amused Goldpaw but it also ticked Ashpaw off. The dark gray tabby tom stalked forward until his nose was against the other cat's and growled, "I hate you."

"Hey, Ashpaw, don't worry," Silverpaw reassured her brother softly while pulling him away by the tail. "Should we go fishing before we leave?"

Ashpaw muttered something Goldpaw didn't hear, but the two WaterClan cats padded off into the direction of the river. Maybe they could catch some fish, but Goldpaw hoped to not a whole lot of fish after the incident from the day before. The awful taste of anchovy still soured his tongue.

While Goldpaw and Aunt Wu watched the two WaterClan cats pad away, he asked the dusky-furred elder, "May I ask you something?"

"Of course, my dear," Aunt Wu purred.

Goldpaw meowed while hanging his head, "You didn't see any love in my life, did you? You were just telling me what would satisfy me."

Aunt Wu looked a little troubled, but then she gazed into his dark gray eyes with her sharp green ones. "My young AirClan friend, I'll let you in on a little secret, just the two of us." She leaned in and whispered, "Like the way you shaped the clouds in the sky, you also have the power to shape your destiny in your life."

Goldpaw purred as he touched the elder's shoulder with his nose and she responded by licking his forehead. This was just like a leader welcoming an elder to the elders' den, but this was more important. It seemed that Ashpaw may be convinced she was wrong, but maybe he could help this prediction come true. If so, he hoped for Silverpaw to be his mate.

**...**

A few hours after getting prepared for the long trip to WaterClan, the three Clan cats were on top of Archie. Aunt Wu already meowed her farewell and said that she hoped that they visit her village soon. However, during much eye-rolling, Ashpaw promised to never visit again.

As Silverpaw got hold of Archie's reins in her jaws, Gold Breeze padded up to the large Asian Lung Dragon and purred, "I hope you visit again!"

"We'll see ya later! It was a pleasure to meet you!" Silverpaw meowed as Goldpaw sat by her side, his dark gray eyes friendly. "Take care of yourself, Gold Breeze," she added as she dipped her head to the brown tabby she-cat.

Gold Breeze nodded and sat on her haunches as she waved one of her fore paws in a farewell. "Take care! Goodbye!"

But when they lifted off and flew away, Gold Breeze lowered her gaze and muttered one word about Silverpaw: "Bitch."

_**To be continued...**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: So how did everyone like that!**

**Katara: I heard that Ming actually called me a floozy. (Pauses) What's a floozy?**

**Holly: I'll tell you. (Whispers into her ear, making her eyes widen)**

**Katara: Wow. She thought I was really...?**

**AvatarCat12: Yeah. Sorry you had to hear that. But it's all in the past, right?**

**Katara: (Smiles) Yeah. You're right.**

**Holly: Good. Now here's a preview for the episode called Volefoot Of WaterClan, an episode AvatarCat hates.**

**Preview: Silverpaw and Ashpaw meet up with an old friend, thus casting Goldpaw away off to the side. Thus, he now feels unwanted. Meanwhile, Bearclaw hires a young bounty hunter to hunt down Goldpaw.**

**And please review, everyone. Flames will be used to destroy zombies.**

**AvatarCat12, Katara, and Holly: See ya next time!**


	17. Volefoot Of WaterClan

**AvatarCat12: This coming up episode will be the one I like the least.**

**Katara: Me too. I just feel guilty about what happened.**

**Holly: And I'm not gonna yell at Sokka this time. He said he was sorry for the fortieth time.**

**AvatarCat12: Well, if you see him, tell him that that's enough. What's done is done. Now we'll go ahead and say-**

**Snowwhistle: I'll say it!**

**AvatarCat12: ...go ahead then.**

**Snowwhistle: Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: He owns none of it. Bryke and Erin Hunter own ATLA and Warrior Cats.**

**Summary: Silverpaw and Ashpaw meet up with an old friend, thus casting Goldpaw away off to the side. Thus, he now feels unwanted. Meanwhile, Bearclaw hires a young bounty hunter to hunt down Goldpaw.**

**Updating Date: January 9, 2012**

**Everyone: Enjoy!**

**...**

_Volefoot of WaterClan_

"Hey, guys! Look at this thing!"

Ashpaw looked up from the bird he had been stalking towards; they were near a shore where the surf broke against jagged rocks that jutted out of the ocean. Angry that it was given a chance to get away and call an alarm, Ashpaw stalked over and saw the golden Avatar Cat standing over a walrus-tusk blade.

"Hold on, Goldpaw. Let me see that," he meowed, padding over to the blade and letting his paw run over the shiny edge.

Suddenly, memories and emotions ran through his mind. Ashpaw could feel a sense of loneliness and sadness when he saw himself at the Southern WaterClan, where ships were being loaded with supplies and weapons. He recognized a small dark gray tabby kit running to the ship, but he stopped with exhaustion. He was holding the walrus-tusk dagger in his jaws, a pained look of anticipated loss on his face.

Ashpaw sniffed the blade and pawed at it a little, his whiskers twitching. "This is a WaterClan weapon! Only a WaterClan cat could use a weapon like this. See if you find a weapon like this and check its scent," he told Goldpaw, who nodded and ran off in the opposite direction.

"Hey, guys! Did you lose something?" Silverpaw asked them, coming up to them and her voice muffled by a starling she caught.

Goldpaw, who was looking in some bushes, meowed in reply, "No, but we _found_ something."

Meanwhile, Ashpaw studied a hawthorn bush and was sniffed an arrow stuck in its trunk. He plucked it out and muttered, "Looks like it's burnt." He dropped it and inspected a large willow tree with burn and claw marks on it. "And it looks like there was a battle. WaterClan warriors ambushed FireClan cats. Those lucky bastards..."

He smelled another familiar yet distant scent from the shore and leaped downhill with the others following him. They made it to the sandy shore, and Goldpaw was leaping after seagulls that were circling around them, obviously seeing Silverpaw's caught starling. But even seagulls knew better than to steal prey from a skilled hunter.

"So what happened?" the golden cat mewed, leaving the seagulls alone.

"I don't know. The trail ends up here," Ashpaw muttered.

Just then, Silverpaw was pointing her muzzle at some large thing and called, "Look over there!"

Ashpaw and Goldpaw left the seagulls' feeding grounds and arrived at what looked like a large beached ship. Ashpaw seemed to recognize it, for it smelled really familiar; the scent was a bit like a faint smell of ice and fish. He finally knew what it was.

Ashpaw sniffed again and exclaimed, "This is a WaterClan boat! It's one of the boats Dad left with moons ago!"

"So is Emberstar here? Is this his boat?" Silverpaw asked her brother, referring to their father.

"No, but one of the WaterClan cats have been around here! He was from the same platoon! Dad really WAS round here!" Ashpaw replied, pawing at the boat.

It didn't matter right now about their father not being around. As long as one of the warriors was around, all three apprentices were going to be safe.

**...**

Bearclaw watched as Irontail lapped at his cream with a peaceful look on his flat face. The dark brown tabby warrior had no idea about how his uncle could remain calm after so many days of traveling. They were in the ship cabin and Irontail tipped a cup of cream into a teacup in front of his nephew.

"Much better," Irontail purred as he lapped up another lap of cream. "There's nothing better for your mental health than peace and quiet."

But when Bearclaw bent his broad head to take a lap of cream, a shock caused it to splash the cream all over his face. He licked it away and got up from table, making angry growling noises. When he got to the deck, he saw the problem.

A young pretty black-&-white she-cat had appeared on deck, riding a huge and hideous monster. It had a nose like a star-nosed mole, but its body, head, and tail mostly resembled that of a wolf. The cats in Bearclaw's pack scattered as the monster climbed up the railing and leaped onto the deck.

"Get the hell out of my way!" the she-cat yowled to the FireClan cats. "We're hunting down an outlaw!"

"There are no outlaws on MY ship," Bearclaw snarled back at her.

However, the monster ripped out a chunk of deck plating with its claws and hurled it away, much to Bearclaw's anger. It stuck its head into the gaping hole, giving Bearclaw a snarl for getting too close. Bearclaw saw that its eyes were tiny, yet it seemed to know where it was going; it could see smells like moles could.

The outlaw's odor showed up as a smoky green trail around it, which it followed. Nearby, a barrel fell over and a gray tabby cat leaped out, whimpering. The tomcat crawled out onto the foredeck where the monster quickly whipped the back of his neck with its long tongue. The cat fell onto the deck, wide awake but paralyzed, with Irontail and Bearclaw looking on in shock.

The black-&-white she-cat jumped off of her animal, padded to the tomcat, and nudged him. She saw the looks on the toms' faces and added, "He's paralyzed only for a temporary time. The toxin will wear off in an hour or so, but once I get this bastard in prison, I'll get to reap my reward for my job. Name's April, by the way."

Bearclaw looked on as April grabbed the tom in her jaws and threw him onboard on top of the creature. "But how...how'd you know where to find him?"

_I don't remember anyone sneaking onboard onto my ship!_

"This is my Shirshu," April replied, patting her animal on the head before climbing on top again. "She can smell a bird flying around one landmass away." With a crack from an automatic whip on the saddle, the female Shirshu let out a roar before bolting off of the ship and down the dock.

Irontail twitched his ears with admiration and murmured, "Well, I for one am impressed. Very impressed indeed."

**...**

The three apprentices had decided to stay near the ship, and Archie had joined up with them. While the full moon shone overhead, Goldpaw and Silverpaw were already asleep as they were curled up in balls of fur. Tobias was sleeping on a snoozing Archie with his head tucked under one wing, unable to hunt at night.

But Ashpaw was the only one still awake; he was still tending to the fire while lost in thought. Suddenly, he found himself in the daylight Southern WaterClan once more and he saw his kit self racing to the ships with an Arctic tern and a dagger in his jaws. He was padding to a dark gray tom with one pale blue eye like Ashpaw and one dark blue eye like Silverpaw.

_Emberstar._

"I wanna come with you, Dad!" Ashkit was wailing as he ran onwards to Emberstar.

The WaterClan leader looked around at him with kindness in his blue eyes as he reminded his son, "Ashkit, you're not old enough to go out into battle. You know that. Plus, Eggshell will be waiting for you in the nursery."

Ashkit padded up to Emberstar and stared up at him with pleading eyes. "Dad, please! I can hunt and fight like you! And I'm big and brave enough! Pplleeaassee?"

"Listen, Ashkit," Emberstar meowed so softly that Ashpaw had to pad over to hear what he was saying. "You're training to be a warrior soon, and a warrior knows where his loyalty lies; it's with your sister and Clanmates right now. Plus, since Rainbreeze will also be in charge of camp, she can make you and Silverkit be apprentices tonight."

"Dad..." Ashkit whined, tears in his eyes, "I don't understand..."

Emberstar touched his head with his paw and murmured, "You will someday. Now please give your father a hug." Ashkit threw himself, sobbing, into his father's thick fur as he cried his eyes out. "I'm gonna miss you and your sister with all my heart."

As the kit continued to sob, Ashpaw was brought back to the present day, pawing at the stray bits of burnt twigs. As he tossed them back into the fire, the dark gray tabby began thinking for a bit. He would give anything to stand beside his father in the heart of the battle.

_I wish we have time off from this mission to see him._

Suddenly, a rustling sound in the bushes near the forest brought him standing up and letting a low hiss escape from his throat. "Who's in there? Show yourself!"

To his surprise, a blue-furred tom was padding out from bushes, his green eyes tired and his hind leg bandaged with cobwebs. He appeared to be injured.

"I come in peace. And-" the tom was mewing. But he suddenly took a double-take at the dark gray apprentice and gasped, "A-Ashpaw?"

Ashpaw sniffed the scent of the tom. To his relief, there was a smell of fish and ice on this cat, even though it was faint. "V-Volefoot?"

"Volefoot? Is that you?" Silverpaw's voice rang out as Ashpaw's silver-furred littermate dashed forward to touch noses with their old family friend. Goldpaw woke up with a heavy-eyed look on his face as he muttered wildly to himself.

"It's you two! Ashpaw and Silverpaw!" the WaterClan deputy purred as he touched noses with the pair of them. "I see your apprenticeship went well since we left! It's great to see the both of you! Well, have you grown!"

"Greetings," Goldpaw meowed as he padded up to the blue-furred tom and dipped his head in respect. "My name is Goldpaw of AirClan, and I am the Avatar Cat."

Volefoot responded by dipping his head in return while surprise at this flashed in his green eyes. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Goldpaw."

Ashpaw took the chance to ask while interrupting this, "So where's Emberstar at?"

Silverpaw put in, "Is he around here now?"

Volefoot shook his head and meowed, "No. He and our other Clanmates are at the eastern side of EarthClan territory." As snow began to fall and the cold wind flew by them, Volefoot quivered despite his thick fur and meowed, "Is this what we call a get-together? A reunion in a blizzard? Come inside with me, you three."

The two WaterClan apprentices gathered around their family friend as Volefoot beckoned for Goldpaw to follow them. Goldpaw got up and followed them as Archie got up from his sleeping place and followed the cats away from the campfire. Tobias opened his beak in a silent yawn before taking off after the cats.

**...**

The four cats had arrived at the gate of a monastery-like place and looked around. Everywhere they looked, several she-cats were padding around, faithfully carrying out their duties like staying out of trouble.

"This place is the Abbey," Volefoot explained to the three apprentices. "When I was injured in battle, your father helped me out by carrying me over to here." To a black-&-gray tabby she-cat, he meowed, "Madame Superior, greetings. These two gray cats are Emberstar's children and they are traveling with the Avatar Cat. I found them near the WaterClan boat."

"Young Avatar Cat," Madame Superior purred while dipping her head to the golden cat, "I am honored to be in your company; the others are pleased, too," she added as the other she-cats nodded to them as well. "Welcome to the Abbey."

Goldpaw nodded back. "Thank you. It's an honor to be here. If there is anything I can-"

But Ashpaw cut him off quite needlessly by sniffing the air and mewing, "What's that smell? It smells good, Volefoot!"

Goldpaw looked quite surprised at being interrupted like this, but Volefoot didn't notice this. He was meowing, "The sisters create well-known oils and perfumes. They smell as good as a flower in newleaf."

"Perfume? Hey, we should get some for Archie and dump it onto his pelt! 'Cause you know...he really needs a bath? Right?" Ashpaw finished.

Silverpaw and Volefoot gazed at him with a look that meant they weren't impressed. Goldpaw still looked quite surprised at being interrupted like that. Then Volefoot meowed, "You seem to have inherited your father's wits."

**...**

Goldpaw followed the three gray cats into the nest ahead of them. Volefoot padded into the room as Silverpaw and Ashpaw explored the area and meowed exclamations like: "Wow! This is much like the warriors' den back home!" "Wow! Look at these penguin coats!"

"Yeah," Goldpaw muttered sarcastically, looking around with a disgusted look at seeing this on the walls. According to AirClan, he was to never use the pelts as display, but he was to bury the fur and feathers after eating fresh-kill. "Nothing makes me feel better than seeing dead animals displayed like this."

He watched as Tobias approached the skin-head of a polar bear, then the hawk gave a squawk of fear and flew back onto his owner's head. He looked over to the three WaterClan cats crouching over a pot of some kind of warm broth and meat inside and bubbling cheerfully. Goldpaw jerked back at the scent, but his friends' blue eyes widened with joy.

"Holy shit!" Silverpaw gasped with joy. "Is this stewed seal blubber?"

Volefoot nodded and purred. "Help yourself!"

"All right!" Ashpaw cheered, accepting a bowl of the stuff. "Emberstar could eat four bowls of this stuff!"

Silverpaw took a ladle, put some of the broth into the bowl, and set it down in front of her before giving some to Goldpaw. But the golden AirClan cat sat back from the group, having put the untouched bowl of stew beside him; only WaterClan cats and polar bears were welcome to them. As the conversation continued while the other cats ate, Tobias wolfed down a piece of meat from the stew, spat it back out, and angrily flapped away.

Silverpaw was meowing, "Volefoot, is it true you and Emberstar tackled a walrus as warriors and made it fresh-kill?"

"Yes," Volefoot purred, letting out a _Mrow_ of laughter and flicked his tail at them. "Well, it was Emberstar's idea and it was he who dragged me along...although that walrus was the one who did the actual dragging."

Goldpaw decided to join in the chat because he hated to be left out by this. So he spoke up, "You rode a walrus! Wow! I've ridden other animals, too! I remember when I rode a Liopleurodon at the Tribe of Heavy Roses. Great StarClan, it was-"

"So who came up with the snowball mystery?" Ashpaw cut him off, making Goldpaw flatten his ears and look down in sadness.

Volefoot gave Ashpaw a look of mock surprise as he meowed, "You know about it?"

"Everyone does!" Silverpaw purred.

"What is it?" Goldpaw asked.

Ashpaw cut him off again by mewing, "It's a long story, Goldpaw. We'll tell you later."

Goldpaw just sighed and sat far away from the WaterClan cats. It seemed that when Volefoot had come around, his friends were ignoring him as if he was just a passing loner going through their territory. He gave a look at his friends as if to show them he was upset, but they didn't pay attention at all.

Silverpaw was purring, "Looks like you and Emberstar had some fun adventures!"

"Indeed," Volefoot sighed as he lay down to tell his stories. "You know, not all of them were funny, but any cat can be funny if they choose to be. Goldpaw, put that back," he added to the golden apprentice, who was nosing some kind of crown made of penguin feathers. "That's very ritual and very fragile."

Goldpaw gave a weary sigh, mewed "Okay," and put it carefully back.

He had done this to try and get some attention, but all he received was a mild scolding from the WaterClan deputy. Even so, he was still unhappy about getting the wrong kind of attention. He padded to the front door and stared out the doorway with Tobias joining him.

"So did you or Emberstar convince Rainbreeze you were a StarClan spirit by placing a polar bear head onto your head?" Silverpaw was asking Volefoot.

The blue-furred tom chuckled and replied, "Well, your father was the one who put the polar bear head on his head. And I was the one who did the _spooky voice_," he added in a pretend spooky voice, making the two other apprentices laugh.

Goldpaw just sighed despite them laughing. _Why are they acting this way?_

**...**

On that same night, Bearclaw and Irontail were padding toward a squat, three-story building with many windows. He was angry at April for wrecking his ship, but he had to stop and stare at the moving figures inside. The dark brown tabby tom looked around the building as he heard many cheers from inside. _This place seems to be packed with cats!_

At the front door, he could see April's Shirshu at the right. A few other customers of the business were also seen by his wary amber eyes. Suddenly, a brown cat got thrown through the wall just above the door, landing on the ground outside and yelping sorely upon collision.

Bearclaw and Irontail padded inside to see April wrestling a huge ginger-&-white cat with brown paws, yellow eyes, and a face like a gorilla's. They were in the middle of a pub that was filled to capacity with revelers as the air stunk of alcohol. The huge gorilla-like tom was panting in his attempt to take down the beautiful black-&-white rogue she-cat. She did not even appear to be trying; she was just leaping from left to right with ease while her foe was tiring out.

Bearclaw began forcing his way through the crowd, determined to give her a piece of his mind. He was snarling at different cats, "Get out of my way, drunken bastards! Stand aside, you pile of elephant shit!"

"My nephew doesn't mean it!" Irontail reassured the crowd his nephew shoved aside, smiling in a jolly yet apologetic way. "I'm sure you groom yourself regularly!"

The two FireClan cats finally arrived at the table where April was still fighting her opponent. During the chat, the huge gorilla cat continued to grunt and struggle against April's amazing strength as she pinned him down.

"Hey! I wanna talk to you!" Bearclaw barked out.

April looked up from her foe, her gray eyes narrowing with recognition and a sneer. "Well, well, well. If it isn't my two new friends: Angry Dude and Lazy Garfield."

Irontail nudged his nephew and laughed heartily for a moment before April made her next move. She made a claw swipe at the huge cat's eyes with her claws, making him screech in pain and ending the contest with one swift movement. The crowd erupted around them and a lot of money changed around paws, much of it ending up in a big pile in front of the black-&-white she-cat.

Bearclaw shoved his way through and growled, "Listen, you! Your filthy pet trashed my ship and you're going to pay me back!"

"I'd love to give you a lending paw," April meowed with sarcasm as she raked some money to her side with a black paw, "but I don't think I have the gold to do it now. Hey everyone, drinks are on me!" she yowled to the crowd, who cheered and chanted her name.

As she bent low and began lapping up the beer brought to her by another cat, Bearclaw sat down beside her and hissed, "I'm not interested in the money. I need you to find someone."

Then he began prowling towards the door, the bounty hunter following him out. He led her outside of the pub and fished out the silver apprentice's necklace from his bag. This was going to be as close as he could get to find the Avatar Cat.

April laughed a little and purred teasingly, "Aw, what's the matter, big boy? Did your mate leave you for another?"

"I'm not after the silver cat," Bearclaw hissed, feeling uncomfortable at this. "I'm actually after the golden tom she's travelling with."

"Sure. Whatever," April retorted, rolling her eyes and flicking her tail at him.

Bearclaw rolled his eyes in return and meowed, "I have a deal for you. If you help me catch this cat, I'll change my mind about the cost of my damaged ship."

However, to his anger, April just snorted, "Nah. Forget it."

The black-&-white bounty hunter was ready to leap onto her Shirshu when Bearclaw grabbed her tail in his jaws, tossed her back to the ground, and towered over her in the pale moonlight. He was about to say something threateningly when Irontail stepped in.

_Uncle, don't interrupt! _he complained in his mind.

"We'll pay you with gold," the fat gray tabby tom added hopefully.

April smiled up at the two tomcats, got up on her paws, and groomed the fur on her chest. She looked around at Irontail and responded, "Actually, make it YOUR weight in gold and we'll call it a deal."

"Deal!" Irontail purred contentedly.

"So get on!" the she-cat meowed, grabbing the necklace from Bearclaw's jaws and holding it out for the Shirshu to sniff. When that was done, she bunched her muscles together and leaped onto her Shirshu. As Bearclaw and Irontail got on, the large beast sniffed a few times and a purple aura surrounded it, making it growl with anticipation.

April gave the two tomcats a nod and turned to her pet Shirshu. With a lash from the whip, the wolf-like animal growled again and took off away from the pub, heading to the scent. Bearclaw hoped this plan would work this time, remembering all the failed tries to catch the Avatar Cat.

**...**

Goldpaw padded outside and stared up at the moon through the trees. He thought it was unfair his friends paid more attention to Volefoot. And that was just because they knew the Avatar Cat for nearly two and a half moons. If he had travelled alone, things like this wouldn't happen to him all the time.

He was getting tired and ready to close his eyes when Volefoot began meowing:

"Listen up, you two. There's something I'd like to tell you two. Sometime later, I'm receiving a message from your father."

"Really?" Silverpaw's voice squealed with excitement.

"When will it come?" Ashpaw's voice asked with hope.

Volefoot calmed them down with a sweep from his tail and meowed, "It'll come around some day from now. Emberstar told me he would send a message over to me when he finds the rendezvous. You two can stick around here for a while for the message if you wanna come with me to find him."

Goldpaw's eyes opened right away and padded inside to look at his friends as their eyes glittered with hope; he was very worried he would lose them. They knew each other for only a few moons, but they were like best friends. If they went off to find Emberstar, he would be left all alone with just a dragon, a hawk, and the entire world's burden on his shoulders.

Ashpaw murmured with excitement, "It's been six moons since we last saw Emberstar! What about you, Silverpaw?" he asked his littermate.

Silverpaw purred, "I just miss Dad so much it hurts! I'd love to see him again!"

The Avatar Cat was very shocked; they were going to leave him after all! He looked discouraged at this, loneliness and worry on his face. While hanging his head, he padded out of the room, shut the door behind him, and padded down the empty road away from the abbey.

But he didn't hear this:

"It's been a long time, eh?" Volefoot meowed as he lapped up some more stew. "I don't know when exactly the message will arrive, but when it does, we can-"

"It'd be awesome, but we can't," Ashpaw answered him, looking and feeling less enthusiastic than usual. "We gotta take Goldpaw to the Northern WaterClan territory first. He has to learn WaterBending."

Silverpaw nodded and added, "Even IF we receive the time left to receive the message, who knows how many skylengths we have to travel? We don't have time left to make a detour. We'd like to hold off our warrior ceremonies until Goldpaw learns WaterBending."

The WaterClan deputy nodded in agreement; it appeared he understood their situation. He put in, "I'm sure Emberstar would understand. He'll be very proud of his own two kits for helping the Avatar Cat and giving him lending paws. "

**...**

Goldpaw paced around the sun-drown-place, still feeling rather upset about the piece of news. He didn't want his friends to leave him just yet, yet he felt that they wouldn't be together for long. He looked up at StarClan, hoping they would agree with him, but clouds were partly covering the moon; it looked like StarClan was agreeing with WaterClan.

_Why the hell would they want to leave now? StarClan, why?_

He leaped on top of Volefoot's boat and stared up at the moon, sending the grievance to his warrior ancestors. But while he stared up at the moon, a noise below made him jump down and turn around. A gray-&-cream cat was sitting on top of a donkey as they made their way up to Volefoot's boat.

"Excuse me, but I'm looking for Volefoot, deputy of the Southern WaterClan," the bicolored cat meowed as he approached.

"Uh..." Goldpaw began, wondering if he should say if he was Volefoot, but this cat wouldn't believe him. So he threw this plan aside and meowed, "I know Volefoot. I'll take the message to him."

He tomcat nodded, dropped down to the ground, and gave the Avatar Cat a scroll, mewing, "All right. Thanks. Make sure he gets it!"

He leaped back onto his donkey, and the braying equid reared onto its hind legs. Then it started galloping away as swiftly as a greyhound.

When the cat was gone, Goldpaw didn't take it to Volefoot. Instead, with Tobias peering at the scroll over his shoulder, he opened the scroll to reveal a map of the entire warrior world. To his horror, he saw a black circle around the eastern side of EarthClan, locating the WaterClan leader.

"Oh no!" he rasped. "This is the map to Emberstar!"

Now certain that his friends were going to leave him, Goldpaw's depression was replaced by rage. He knew that he liked Silverpaw, but his trust in her faded away quickly. He recalled his friends telling him that Rainbreeze told them that it was their destiny to help him save the world and help him train. But now, they were defying their destiny and abandoning him.

So he crumpled it up with his paws in anger, stuffed it into his orange bag, and stalked away from the ship. He didn't look back at the ship at once.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

It felt so good to talk to Volefoot again about the old days with the adventures of the WaterClan deputy and his leader. Ashpaw hoped the stories would never end as he and Silverpaw purred with amusement at the stories. They even gaped in awe when Emberstar had smashed a clam against a rock in a current while Volefoot hung upside-down from a branch to reach him.

The door suddenly opened. Ashpaw watched with mild surprise as Goldpaw shuffled into the room with a sullen look on his face. _Must have something to do with AirClan._

"Hey, what's up, everyone?" he was mewing with a painful smile on his face. "Sorry I worried you during my walk."

"Hey," Silverpaw returned his greeting. "I didn't know you went out for a while."

Ashpaw could have sworn he saw something else flicker in the Avatar Cat's dark gray eyes, but it was gone right away. Then Goldpaw meowed with an exaggerated smile, "I just went for a walk, but I'm back now, aren't I? Now I feel like having Stewed Seal Blubber!"

He crouched down beside his cold bowl of Stewed Seal Blubber and took a big slurp from it. He choked on it and hacked it out into a furball, but he replaced his revolted look with another look of painful cheer before slowly licking up the liquid inside the bowl. Tobias didn't come to steal any; instead, he was giving the bowl a glare through his green eyes.

Silverpaw and Volefoot just gave the AirClan cat a look of surprise and suspicion in their eyes. Ashpaw sat over beside them and gave his friend a similar expression but with a raised brow. He couldn't tell if a cat was lying or not, but it was hard to feel what he was feeling.

_Has he gone mad?_

**...**

As the Shirshu entered a ghost town at the base of the hill in the old rickety town, Bearclaw saw an old gray tortoiseshell she-cat crouching near the ground and harvesting some plants. Near her was a small white ferret that tensed and hissed at the sound of the Shirshu arriving. As Bearclaw leaped down and stalked toward her, the Shirshu raced up ahead to.

The old gray tortoiseshell she-cat looked up at the two other cats atop the Shirshu and meowed with a friendly tone, "Ah...off on a walk for some air, eh? It's good for your health, you know."

"No," Bearclaw meowed while shaking his head. "We're trying to find someone."

"I hope it's not dear Lily you're after! You were messing around with FireClan again, weren't you, Lily?" she meowed at the ferret, who gave a shrill squeak and backed away.

Suddenly, the Shirshu lifted its tentacle nose upwards and sniffed the air while its owner did the same. "The Avatar Cat was around here quite a half-moon ago. Let's roll!"

She held the whip in her jaws and let it crack over her pet, which gave a sharp growl and leaped away. Bearclaw had already got back on and could have sworn he smelt distant greencough, but no cat could have been sick recently, unless..._his friends caught the sickness some time ago! Damn, it smells so bad!_

The dark tabby was sure to help find his friends with the scent of sickness that once clung onto their fur. It stank so bad that it almost made him vomit, but he held it back. If he threw up, the Shirshu wouldn't find the Avatar Cat's friend's scent. So he had to trust this animal.

**...**

As Goldpaw carried a turkey over to Archie, he felt really upset about hiding the map, but he had to do it to protect his friends. Archie, who was munching on the turkey, was quite unaware of his owner's distress. Even Tobias wasn't aware, but Goldpaw was sure birds couldn't pick up feelings a lot more than cats could.

Suddenly, he felt something slip out of his bag around his shoulder and he saw that it was the crumpled-up map. He reached forward to pick it up, but a white paw pinned it down straight away.

"Aha!" a gray-&-white she-cat snapped as she picked up the map and dropped it onto his head. "You have been caught red-pawed! Have you no shame, young tomcat?"

"I'm sorry!" Goldpaw mewed, feeling ashamed and crouching low to the ground. He was already preparing for a scolding.

The gray-&-white she-cat just retorted, "I should hope so. Next time...think before you litter in the courtyard!"

_Oh! _Goldpaw suddenly realized the gray-&-white she-cat was completely unaware of the map he was hiding. At least he wasn't being yelled at right at the moment.

He dipped his head to her nervously and replied, "Um...I'm sorry, ma'am. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't," the she-cat sighed before padding away from him and leaving him in peace.

Giving a sigh of relief, Goldpaw picked the map up in his jaws and placed it carefully back into his bag. Even though one cat almost found out, he was afraid of what Ashpaw and Silverpaw would do if they ever found out about the map. Every time that would come up in his mind, he could feel his skin crawl with terror at what would happen.

**...**

Goldpaw nervously followed Silverpaw, Ashpaw, and Volefoot out to the beach to the ship where they found the WaterClan deputy. He felt the time to hide the map was drawing to a close, but he felt horrible about when that time would around. When Volefoot began meowing, the AirClan apprentice left his worries behind at the moment.

"You see this ship here? This reliable thing is important to me. It was my father Bluegrass who built it," Volefoot was meowing with a hint of pride in his eyes and voice.

Goldpaw just gave a nod and looked down, and what he saw next made him shiver: the hoof-prints of the messenger's donkey were still there. Making sure no one was looking, he flicked his tail to AirBend the entire trail away, and then he turned back around to the other cats, flicking his ears guiltily.

"So is this the boat your father took you when you went Ice Dodging?" Ashpaw asked his father's friend. The dark gray tabby apprentice seemed to be interested in this "Ice Dodging" business.

Volefoot nodded and pointed his muzzle to a long scratch along the side. "Here's the scar that proved I went out and did it. What about you, Ashpaw? Didn't Emberstar want to tell me great Ice Dodging stories after you graduated?"

"Actually, Volefoot," Silverpaw piped up. "Emberstar left to fight FireClan when we were just apprentices. So he never got to learn how to Ice Dodge."

"Oh. I forgot," Volefoot muttered, scooping some sand around his paw in embarrassment. "You were just a newly-made apprentice when we left."

Wanting to join in the chat but wanting to keep his jaws shut about the messenger, Goldpaw stepped forward and asked the deputy, "Excuse me for interrupting, but what the hell is this Ice Dodging thing?"

To his relief, Volefoot looked at him with respectful green eyes as he replied, "Ice Dodging is a ceremony of passage for young WaterClan warriors. Back in the ancient four Clans, assessments were usually to hunt as much fresh-kill as they could and they'd become warriors. But since the four new Clans came around, they adopted different rituals. Anyways, when you pass, you get a mark to show that you are a worthy warrior. When you turn nine moons old, your mentor would take you to Ice Dodge."

For some reason, Ashpaw's face fell at being reminded that he never went, so he hung his head, looking downcast. Volefoot crouched beside his friend's son and purred, "Guess what? You'll find out today about Ice Dodging."

Ashpaw looked up at his Clanmate and gave him a reassured smile. He was going to finally Ice Dodge today.

**...**

The mighty lava that flowed from the volcano above a nearby town was hardened to stone by some supernatural event. The lava now surrounded the village, ominous but harmless.

Cats of all colors ran around in the streets, yelping in fear and fleeing the Shirshu and its riders who entered the Square. Padding toward them calmly was an old dusky brown she-cat, looking serene, if not entirely pleased. She and a young brown-&-cream tabby she-cat with wavy fur were sitting to the left of the closed circular door to their building. The Shirshu and its riders approached them in a menacing manner.

While the younger tabby trembled with fear, Bearclaw felt the Shirshu stop. He looked over at April and asked her with disbelief, "What the...? Why in StarClan's name are we stopping here?"

"'Cause the silver she-cat spent a lot of time here, dumbass," was the bounty hunter's retort.

"We don't have time for this!" Bearclaw snarled as he jerked the necklace out from her jaws. Immediately, he leaped down from the Shirshu and showed it the necklace again. The big brute lashed out with its powerful tongue, but the FireClan tabby narrowly avoided getting zapped.

April was watching with amusement and purred, "Aww, she likes you!"

Bearclaw just snarled angrily as he sunk his claws into the monster, trying to climb back up behind her and in front of his uncle. Irontail grabbed him by the scruff and hauled him up, only to get a short thank-you and roll his eyes.

Meanwhile, the old she-cat padded up to the Shirshu's side with the younger tabby following her. She looked up at Irontail and purred, "So, handsome, would you like to have your fortune told?"

"Ah," Irontail purred back as he smiled down at her. "At my age as a Clan elder, I have but one surprise left in my life, and I would like to be surprised at the end of my path." The old brown she-cat gave a serene nod right back and padded inside with the tabby following her skittishly.

As soon as the two she-cats left, April brought out her whip again and lashed it out at the Shirshu. It gave another growl and headed off deeper into the forest while Aunt Wu watched on, picking off a sense of spiritual confusion from the dark brown tabby tom.

**...**

Volefoot's WaterClan boat slowly approached a group of jagged rocks poking out of the surface of the water. Ashpaw felt more determined and brave than nervous and scared. This was the day that he finally learned how to Ice Dodge! Silverpaw looked excited, but Goldpaw looked scared.

"Ice-dodging is a customary review of wisdom, bravery and trust," Volefoot was meowing the instructions. "In WaterClan, this was done by swerving a boat or a piece of tree through fields of icebergs."

"I don't see any icebergs," Ashpaw spoke up, feeling confused. There couldn't be any icebergs around this area because they would melt; all that he saw were just jagged rocks. "How could we Ice Dodge without icebergs?"

Volefoot purred and pointed out to the horizon with his tail. "You won't be dodging icebergs now. Instead, you will dodge...those rocks over there. You'll be _Rock Dodging_!"

Ashpaw felt a little nervous again and gulped. He remembered seeing the scar on Volefoot's father's ship after a harsh Ice Dodging trip, and he saw a fin or two appear at the surface of the water. The rocks up ahead looked more like long dog's teeth instead of rocks and the sharks seemed to be like the orcas in the WaterClan seas.

"Ashpaw, your job is to steer and call out the orders. Lead this role fairly and wisely." Ashpaw gave a determined nod and got into his position.

"Silverpaw, your job is to safeguard the mainsail. The winds will be brutal, and the sharks are famished, so be brave." Silverpaw also nodded and got into her position before Volefoot turned to Goldpaw.

"And Goldpaw, your job is to control the jib. Without your steady and firm paw, we all go down. Your position is about reliance."

"I know that!" Goldpaw snapped, not giving the deputy a nod but looking scared and guilty. "There's no need to remind me since I'm the Avatar Cat! I know trust when it lies at my paws!" He turned around to his position, but he turned quickly away from his friends and the deputy of WaterClan.

Volefoot sat down in the main seat and finished: "Since this ceremony requires the skills of an apprentice to pass, I cannot help you on this one, but I will be watching your progress. You either succeed or fail on your own accord. Good luck, you three."

And the test began...

Ashpaw sat up on his post, observing the environment as seagulls passed over them. Goldpaw and Silverpaw were at the posts as they awaited their friend's guidance. But as they neared the jagged rocks and the sharks, they all began to feel rather nervous about getting scratched or even eaten.

But Ashpaw was determined to not let this bother their first-ever Rock Dodging event.

"Goldpaw! Let the jib ease a little!" he commanded. The golden Avatar Cat did what he said. "Silverpaw! Steady it a little!" And his silver-pelted littermate did just that. "Goldpaw! Use a little less sail!"

Goldpaw obeyed and hauled on the rope a little. Once Ashpaw saw a shark leap out of the water and head straight for Goldpaw, inching towards him with great difficulty, but Ashpaw rushed forward to slash it on the nose. Other sharks surrounded the bleeding shark and began ripping it to pieces. With their path clear, they were now heading straight for the jagged rocks in the water.

"Goldpaw! Helm to lee! Helm to lee!"

"What the-" But Goldpaw was splashed in the face with saltwater before sputtering, "What does that even mean?"

But the answer never came out out Ashpaw's mouth. All three apprentices struggled against their loads, and that made the ship narrowly miss a huge pile of rocks jutting out from another rock. Ashpaw gave a nod of approval at his friends before they went back to their jobs. But now they were heading toward an entire circle of rocks that looked quite unavoidable.

"Ashpaw, we can't make it over that!" Silverpaw squeaked with terror.

"Oh, yes we will!" Ashpaw retorted, gazing up ahead at the rocks. This was it; he was going to leap for the sun, and they would all pass the Rock Dodging!

Volefoot, meanwhile, was getting up after falling from his chair with excitement. "Ashpaw! I think you already passed your test. Maybe we should head back to shore!"

But Ashpaw ignored him as he continued to stare out at the rocks up ahead. He did already pass, but he wanted to prove to Volefoot that he could be just as great as his father was when he was Ice Dodging. He also wanted his father to be proud of him.

_There's no turning back now! It's now or never! Please, StarClan, watch over us!_

"Hey Goldpaw, get some air in that sail!" Goldpaw gave a nod at him before going to his post, ready to do his job. "Silverpaw, I want you to WaterBend as much seawater as you can between us and those rocks!" Silverpaw nodded and got to her post, also looking ready but with a hint of fear in her dark blue eyes.

They were almost there...just a few more fox-lengths...then...

"Now!"

The golden and silver apprentices went right to work while Ashpaw called out more instructions. Goldpaw began to push wave after wave of air into the sail while Silverpaw raised the ship up on an accelerating wave of water. The huge wave now carried the speeding ship intact over the circle of serrated rocks. Ashpaw fell back on the deck of the ship with a sigh of relief while the others gave a weary nod and a smile to their friend.

_We passed! Thank you, StarClan!_

**...**

**(AvatarCat12: This part will be good at first, but the next part...I HATE it!)**

**(Katara: I know. Me too.)**

**(Holly: Me three. I'll put this song in when it gets to the part. The song is No Way Out, owned by Phil Collins.)**

When the Avatar Cat and the three WaterClan cats finally arrived at shore, Volefoot called them forward and had them sit down in front of him. He brought forward blue face painting and called each cat to him one at a time. Ashpaw felt his pelt tingle with pride

"Ashpaw. Come forward," Volefoot meowed.

Ashpaw stepped forward to him, proud of being able to pass Rock Dodging. If they went to meet Emberstar, his father would be so proud! Volefoot dipped his damaged paw into the blue paint and made a symbol of a dot and a half circle on his forehead.

"May StarClan watch over this ceremony and accept you as future warriors." To Ashpaw, he mewed, "For your wisdom, you will receive the Wise Symbol. This is the same marking your father got. StarClan honors your wisdom and hard thinking, and we welcome you as a warrior."

Ashpaw dipped his head to Volefoot before sitting back down. His friends called out, "Ashpaw! Ashpaw!"

Volefoot called, "Silverpaw, come forward." The WaterClan apprentice padded forward and Volefoot painted a different symbol onto her forehead: the moon as if it looked like a claw in the sky. "For your courage, you will receive the Brave Symbol, and it shall stir others to be brave. StarClan honors your bravery and resolve, and we welcome you as a warrior."

Silverpaw dipped her head to her deputy and sat down while her brother and Goldpaw called out, "Silverpaw! Silverpaw!"

"And finally, Goldpaw. Come forward," Volefoot meowed. Ashpaw saw Goldpaw step out of the line and padded slowly to the WaterClan warrior. Volefoot's blue fur ruffled with respect as he painted another symbol onto his head: a half circle. "For your reliability, you will receive the Trust Symbol. StarClan honors your honesty and reliability, and we welcome you as a warrior."

But when Silverpaw and Ashpaw began cheering, "Goldpaw! Goldpaw!", Goldpaw held up his tail for silence. He turned to face them with tears forming in his dark gray eyes, much to the others' surprise.

_Everywhere I turn, I hurt someone_

_But there's nothing I can say to change the things I've done_

_I'd do anything within my power_

_I'd give everything I've got_

_But the path I seek is hidden from me now_

Ashpaw stepped forward and meowed, "Hey, Goldpaw, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, everyone, but I don't deserve this," the Avatar Cat croaked, tears silently falling down his face.

"Of course you do! You're a trusted warrior!" Silverpaw exclaimed.

But Goldpaw licked his paw, wiped off the marking, and rasped, "No I'm not. I don't think you can trust me anymore."

Ashpaw cocked his head to one side, wondering what Goldpaw meant by that. _Is he hiding something? Maybe we can help him._

Beside him, Silverpaw's eyes widened as she asked, "Goldpaw, what are you meowing about?"

Goldpaw took off his bag from around his shoulder while tears fell onto the sand and took out a crumpled piece of paper. He laid it at the paws of his friends and croaked, "A...a messenger came last night and asked me to give this to Volefoot." Silverpaw let out a gasp of shock and Ashpaw's eyes also widened. "Please understand, you two. I-I was af-fraid that-"

"Let me see," Ashpaw rasped, opening up the paper. There was a map with the entire world on it and there was a black circle encasing the eastern EarthClan territory. The black letters on it read: "Emberstar: Currently Located At Iguana Bay."

Suddenly, Ashpaw's sympathy for Goldpaw quickly rotted away and was replaced by anger. _That little bastard! He lied to us! He betrayed us!_

Ignoring Goldpaw crouching low and closing his eyes with fear and sadness, he leaned in close and snarled at him, "This is the map that leads us to Emberstar! You knew about this and you hid it from us? And you never told us where to find him? Goldpaw, how could you?"

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Goldpaw's apology was so upsetting that Ashpaw felt bad for one moment before being angry again. Then the golden cat began sobbing, "I-I was af-fraid you two w-would l-leave me."

_Brother Bear, I let you down_

_You trusted me, believed in me, and I let you down_

_Of all the things I hid from you, I cannot hide the shame_

_And I pray someone, something will come, to take away the pain_

"Well, you're right about that!" Ashpaw hissed fiercely. "You know what? Fuck your mission and fuck you! You can go by yourself to the Northern WaterClan! I'm gonna go find Emberstar! You're no warrior! A true warrior never hides secrets from his Clanmates!"

Without another word, Ashpaw swiped his claws at Goldpaw's face, savoring his claws slicing at the traitor's face. He ignored Volefoot and Silverpaw staring at him in shock as he stalked away, relishing his sadness and the Avatar Cat's blood on his paws.

"Ashpaw!" Volefoot meowed sharply; there was anger and disappointment in his green eyes and voice. "Come back here right now! Apologize to him!"

But Ashpaw didn't listen; instead, he walked farther off and called over his shoulder, "Silverpaw! Are you coming with me or not? Don't you want to find Dad?"

Silverpaw looked from Goldpaw to Ashpaw again as if she couldn't make up her mind. Then, when Goldpaw tried to touch her ear with his nose, she stepped away from him while lowering her eyes and murmured, "I'm sorry, Goldpaw, but you're right. You betrayed our trust. I'm going with Ashpaw to find Emberstar."

At this, she turned around and padded away with her dark gray brother, who was happy that she was still loyal to her Clan above everything else...even the traitor, Goldpaw. Volefoot gave a nod of apology to the Avatar Cat before padding off behind the apprentices. Ashpaw didn't look back at the traitor, not wanting to look at him anymore.

But Ashpaw heard Goldpaw suddenly rasp, "Okay... So this is the way it's gonna be. I...I hope you're both happy."

But Ashpaw gave a growl and shut him up. When Goldpaw was crying again, all alone at the sun-drown-place, Ashpaw was pleased to see that he was miserable. He lowered his head and stalked through the undergrowth, ignoring the painful scratched the thorns were giving him.

"Ashpaw."

Ashpaw turned to see Volefoot approach him as if to agree with him, but there was no happiness or gentleness in his green gaze. He braced himself for a scolding. The blue-pelted tom padded beside him and growled, "Ashpaw, what in StarClan's name possessed you to behave like that?"

"He hid the map from us!" Ashpaw spat.

"But other than yelling at him, shouldn't you have talked to him about it?" Volefoot asked him.

Ashpaw growled, "Why? Just so that he could betray us again? Anything less is weakness!"

Volefoot sighed, "Then you have learned nothing from the Warrior Code. I'm very disappointed in you right now. If your father was here, he'd be disappointed too."

Feeling a tiny twinge of regret, Ashpaw shoved it away and thought angrily, _I don't care if he sends me to the elders' den to clean up for a moon!_ _I'm NOT going to apologize to that traitor no matter what! He deserves the pain!_

_There's no way out of this dark place_

_No hope, o future_

_I know I can't be free_

_But I can't see another way_

_And I can't face another day_

But as he bent over a puddle to lap the freshwater, he looked deeply into the pool and reeled back in horror. His reflection faded away and there, instead, was a huge dark brown tabby cat staring up at him with pale amber eyes and there was a scar across his nose and a nearly split ear.

_Tigerstar!_

The evil ShadowClan leader was gazing up at him as he rumbled, "Well done, Ashpaw. You and your sister don't need traitors and kittypets like him! From now on, WaterClan should keep their loyalties within their own Clan!"

"You're right, Tigerstar," Ashpaw replied, watching as the face of Tigerstar faded away into the darkness of the pool, leaving his own reflection to appear once again. "Goldpaw got what he deserved. And I am to be loyal to my own Clan and the Warrior Code, no matter what. From now on, I will not have any other friends from outside my Clan! WaterClan stands alone."

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

_Tell me where did I go wrong_

_Everyone I loved, they're all gone_

_I'd do anything so differently, but I can't change back the time_

_There's no shelter from the storm inside of me_

As Ashpaw loaded the last bit of luggage onto his back, he took a glance towards Goldpaw. The golden Avatar Cat was sitting at the entrance of the gate with his head bowed so that he couldn't read what his face looked like. Ashpaw almost felt bad for him, but he pushed away the thought.

_Why should I care? He got what he deserved, lying to us like that!_

Silverpaw padded over to Goldpaw and murmured, "Good luck, Goldpaw."

Goldpaw didn't answer her, but he did look up at her. Ashpaw saw that he was giving her the saddest look through tearful dark gray eyes; this was the saddest look he ever saw on his former friend's face. Silverpaw leaned forward to lick him on the ear and Ashpaw was prepared to stop her from licking the traitor.

But there was no need; Goldpaw jerked away and rasped, "Just go..."

Ashpaw gave a snarl and was about to claw him on the face again, but Silverpaw nudged him away and whispered consolingly to him. When the dark gray tabby tom looked back, Goldpaw was stalking away without turning around. But Ashpaw just gave a snort of contempt and stalked on ahead.

_It's not _my_ fault he betrayed us!_

**(Author's Note: Like the third chapter of Warriors: Midnight, it changed from one point of view to the other. The same will be done here.)**

Goldpaw gave a sigh of dejection and sorrow as he watched the two siblings follow Volefoot out of the monastery. He almost wished he wasn't distant toward Silverpaw, but when she had said he betrayed her beyond forgiveness, that just ticked him off. But he didn't blame Volefoot; he did try to make Ashpaw apologize and he gave him an apology nod earlier.

He sighed again and climbed on top of Archie. Goldpaw seemed to sink his claws in harder than he intended because Archie was grunting with mild pain. If those two WaterClan cats didn't abandon him, he would be gentler.

As he watched Madame Superior approach the Asian Lung Dragon, Goldpaw looked down at her. "I'm heading on out. I'm not gonna stick around here anymore."

"I believe it's for the best, young Avatar Cat," the black-&-gray she-cat meowed with no anger in her voice or eyes.

Goldpaw nodded down at her; this she-cat wasn't guilty at all for how he felt. He gave Archie's reins a harder tug than intended, and Archie lumbered to the other gate that led to the sun-drown-place. Tobias let out a caw of confusion as he and Goldpaw gazed out where the three WaterClan cats went off to.

"Those two were idiots, Tobias," Goldpaw muttered out loud.

But as soon as he meowed that, he banished that thought from his brain to the back of his brain. He was also a traitor by hiding the message that was from Emberstar. No wonder they yelled at him, because they cared for their father.

_But I'm an idiot, too..._

_There's no way out of this dark place_

_No hope, no future_

_I know I can't be free_

_But I can't see another way_

_And I can't face another day_

**...**

After they went down the path, Ashpaw felt a little better after several minutes of walking. He felt that Goldpaw deserved to be left behind or eaten by FireClan. But this came at a cost; Volefoot seemed less kind toward him and harder. He had scolded him sharply for letting a mouse escape from his claws.

But while they were wandering down their path, they heard a lonely howl from deeper into the woods. That sounded like a fox, but it was much bigger.

_Wolf!_

Silverpaw swiveled her ears toward the sound and asked the tomcats, "Guys, you hear that? That wolf sounded so sad!"

"Don't worry about it. It's probably wounded," Ashpaw told her.

"It's not just that, you two." Volefoot's voice made the two apprentice turn towards him with surprise. "That wolf has also been abandoned by its pack. I felt the same pain that poor beast has suffered. When I was wounded, we didn't have a medicine cat with us so the other warriors left me behind except for Emberstar. Being separated from my Clanmates and the Warrior Code was an even sharper pain than being bitten or scratched."

Ashpaw suddenly found himself in his memories of being left behind again. He felt guilt wound his heart when he heard Emberstar's voice: "You're training to be a warrior soon, and a warrior knows where his loyalties lie."

As Ashpaw sympathized with his younger self, he suddenly found this kit transforming before his eyes. His dark gray tabby coat became golden with white arrows, and his blue eyes became dark gray. This was Goldpaw, who he himself had abandoned harshly just because of a simple mistake.

_Great StarClan! What have I done? _he thought. _It IS my fault he betrayed us! Tigerstar lied to me!_

He felt his sister's paw nudge him on the shoulder, turning to see concern in her eyes. He told her, "Silverpaw, we need to go back. I'm gonna find Goldpaw and apologize to him."

"But Ashpaw, he betrayed us by hiding the map," Silverpaw protested.

"Yeah, but it was my own damn fault; I also betrayed us. If I wasn't being a jerk, he wouldn't hide the map!" Ashpaw retorted. Then he went on gently, "Look, I want to see Emberstar as badly as you do, but helping Goldpaw is more important. In fact, it's even more important than the Warrior Code for now."

Immediately, he saw Silverpaw's troubled dark blue eyes turn happy and accepting. She replied with a smile, "You're right, Ashpaw. We have to help Goldpaw; he IS the Warrior Code!"

_I can't believe the words I hear_

_It's like an answer to a prayer; when I look around, I see_

"Your father will understand," Volefoot mewed as he touched noses with each apprentice. "He'll know he's proud of you two." He turned to Ashpaw with gentleness as he added, "And I'm also proud of you for doing the right thing."

Ashpaw dipped his head to him and purred, "Thank you so much, Volefoot." He now wished he listened to the WaterClan deputy and apologized to Goldpaw, who was NOT a traitor.

Volefoot touched the top of his head and handed him the map, meowing, "Don't worry about me not having this; I know where to go. I think you should hang onto it if you three want to find us. I'll give Emberstar the message." Then he meowed his farewells while they hugged him again and padded away deeper into the forest without them.

_This place, this time_

_This friend of mine_

As Ashpaw and Silverpaw wiped away their symbols, feeling that THEY didn't deserve to have them after what happened, he could hear Tigerstar hiss in his ear. There was much anger in the evil cat's deep mew.

_What have you done, you little mouse-brain? Goldpaw is a traitor!_

_Shut up, you old shit! _Ashpaw retorted, exiling him from his mind. _Goldpaw's not a traitor! The Avatar Cat's more important than Clan loyalty for now!_

**...**

"They went this way!" April growled, pointing her tail toward a different road. The Shirshu had leaped into the abbey and scared off the other cats of the area with its lashing tongue.

"Good," Bearclaw nodded back; he felt better after long ours of riding. They were now closing in to the silver cat who had gone down a long road. The Shirshu let out a snarl and leaped away down that path and into the pine forest.

**...**

"We're going alone, you two," Goldpaw sighed to Archie and Tobias as he glanced toward the sun. He thought that he and Silverpaw would be together, but that thought made him feel sick. "They're going their way, and we'll go our way."

"Avatar Cat!" Madame Superior's yowl made him look up from a bird he was planning catch. The black-&-gray she-cat was racing toward him as she called, "You must leave at once!"

Goldpaw muttered angrily and a bit more rudely, "Yeah, I got it, okay? I'm going! No one wants me around here anymore!"

Madame Superior shook her head and retorted, "No, it's not that! Three strange cats have come to the abbey looking for you."

"Who?"

"One was a black-&-white she-cat with a fierce monster that looks like a mix between a wolf, anteater, and mole," Mother Superior began explaining. "Another is a fat gray tabby, and the last is a large tabby with an eye scar."

Goldpaw couldn't believe it. "But that's Bearclaw! What the h-"

He almost said "What the hell," but he kept it back because he felt these cats find bad language horrible. So he turned his sentence around and meowed instead, "What in the name of StarClan is he doing here?"

Mother Superior went on, "I believe the beast was using the scent of a fox-fang necklace to hunt you down."

"Fox-fang necklace?" Goldpaw asked her. But it didn't take long at all about what he realized. "Oh no! Silverpaw!"

He didn't really want to join the two WaterClan cats after they abandoned him, for they had went their own way. But he wouldn't let any cat die without him knowing. Plus, StarClan would never forgive him if their chosen Avatar Cat let another cat get away with murder.

_It looks like there's a change of plan._

**...**

"...and after I apologize to him, I'm gonna find the biggest bird I can find!" Ashpaw had been telling Silverpaw about what he would do when they apologize to him.

"But how are you gonna catch a bird? All I've seen you doing is catch fish or turkeys!" his sister purred with amusement.

Ashpaw paused for a while. "I don't know, but he'll be happy to see us again! But what if he doesn't accept...hold on, Silverpaw!"

Ashpaw held his stiffening tail out for Silverpaw to halt and she stopped. There was a familiar and unfamiliar scent in the air. Plus, there were footsteps approaching and they did not sound like a cat at all; instead, it sounded bigger.

Just like a shark catching a bird, a huge terrible brown wolf-like beast with a tentacle-nose erupted from the bushes and headed straight to them. On there was a black-&-white she-cat Ashpaw didn't know and he recognized them: Bearclaw and Irontail.

_I haven't seen them when Silverpaw had that WaterBending book! _Ashpaw thought with horror. _What're they doing here?_

And to his horror, the creature was pointing its nose straight at Silverpaw and sniffing loudly. _How can it smell like that?_

"So this is your mate?" the black-&-white she-cat purred to Bearclaw, glancing down at the silver she-cat. "She's too attractive for you. No wonder it didn't work out."

"April, cut it out! She's not my mate!" Bearclaw snarled at her, blushing. Turning to the two WaterClan cats, he hissed, "Where is he? Where's the Avatar Cat?"

Ashpaw shrugged his shoulders while glaring boldly at the dark brown tabby warrior. "We had a fight and we split up some time ago. He'll be long gone before moonhigh."

Bearclaw shook his broad head irately from side to side; Ashpaw could tell he wasn't convinced. "Are you shitting me, you little roach? Just how mouse-brained do you think I am?"

"_Very_ mouse-brained," Ashpaw retorted. Then he gave his sister a nudge, telling her, "Run!"

The silver she-cat tried to run, but the Shirshu's tongue lashed out and struck her across the back, making her yowl and fall. Horrified, Ashpaw raced over to see if she was all right when she fell. She was still breathing, but she seemed to be paralyzed.

Furiously, the dark gray cat leaped at the Shirshu and slashed its muzzle, but that was a fatal mistake. The wolf-like animal struck him across the chest with its tongue, making him also fall paralyzed to the ground.

When this was done, Bearclaw turned to April and asked her, "Now that this is done, what'll we do now?"

April held up her tail and hissed, "She picked up a different scent. Maybe she smells something the Avatar Cat may be carrying. We'll track him down very soon."

As she said this, the Shirshu padded up to the paralyzed WaterClan apprentices and sniffed them. When Bearclaw went down and brought the two of them onto its back (Ashpaw in his jaws and Silverpaw on his back), the map rolled away from Ashpaw's ground. The Shirshu sniffed it out before running off into the opposite direction.

_We don't need the map! We'll get there with Archie someday! Goldpaw, we could really use some help here!_

**...**

The abbey entrance gate was blown open again as the monster and its riders burst through again, sending sister cats running away and yowling with terror in all directions. The Shirshu began to stalk around, sniffing the ground with great anticipation. Bearclaw was growling with frustration.

"What the hell?" he snarled as the Shirshu sniffed around some more. "It's just going around in circles! It's not doing anything!"

Suddenly, the Shirshu looked up and Ashpaw saw what made the creature look up: Goldpaw was charging toward them while spinning around in circles; it was the Zetsu Tenrou Battouga. The young Avatar Cat charged at the Shirshu while it stood on its hind legs and he crashed into it, making it fall down to the ground while the cats fell off.

"Goldpaw!" Silverpaw cried happily.

"He's here!" Ashpaw wailed joyfully. _I hope he's ready to forgive us!_

But before leaping away into the battle, Goldpaw had to catch his breath since the Battouga uses a lot of energy. But he turned around to look blankly at the WaterClan apprentices; it was a stare that told them to hurry away. Ashpaw knew they had to settle the score when this fiasco was all over.

April got up onto her paws and whipped the ground angrily. The Shirshu got up and roared in reply with the bounty hunter leaping onto its back. They charged after Goldpaw and were just about to get him when right before impact, Archie entered from the right and plowed right into the Shirshu, pushing it and its rider out the left side. They crashed into the wall of a nearby building, knocking a hole right through it. Archie was now roaring with a fiery grin on his face, breathing heavily out his nostrils.

Ashpaw was very impressed with his friend's Asian Lung Dragon. He had never seen Archie fight before, and scaring off the Diatryma didn't count. But this was a spectacle that Ashpaw and Silverpaw did not want to miss.

Goldpaw turned to nod at his dragon, but his face turned to alarm as he turned away from Archie to face Bearclaw, whose claws burned with fire as he advanced on the Avatar Cat. He leaped at Goldpaw, who laid down onto the ground on his back and kicked him away. They traded several rounds of blows, all of which struck or were blocked. Finally, the two cats smashed their attacks together at the same time, both blown backwards onto the roofs behind them.

Bearclaw got up while his cheek bled from a deep gash; Ashpaw could see the fire burning in Goldpaw's eyes as his body bore bloody claw marks. Being abandoned had really shortened his temper issues.

Ashpaw could see April lying next to the Shirshu, both down for the count. Irontail raced up to the bounty hunter and patted the side of her face with his paw. She woke up and rose to her feet while breathing angrily. She cracked her whip at the Shirshu and muttered something hard to hear. Then the Shirshu rose to its paws also; April leaped into the saddle and they ran back into battle. They charged at Archie, who was on the other side of the square. The large furry dragon flew into the air as they got to him, but the Shirshu lashed at Archie's belly with its tongue.

Archie landed on the other side of the patio. He struggled to stay standing, but he failed to do so. He collapsed into a cloud of dust, giving a groan of defeat. But then, Archie rose wearily to his feet, standing onto his hind legs and roaring. The two beasts charged at each other after April whipped her pet again, and they had a direct collision, throwing her over Archie's head, which she clawed at his face as she passed by. She landed on the ground and rolled away just as the dragon's large foot stomped deep into the ground where she left.

Ashpaw could see Goldpaw rise unsteadily from where he had fallen on the roof. His eyes went wide as Bearclaw leaped at him down from the spine of the roof. He threw a blast of fire from his tail at the golden cat, who jumped over the tabby's head to land behind him. They exchanged blow after blow with Goldpaw eventually kicking Bearclaw off the roof.

He was immediately replaced, though, when April and the Shirshu jumped onto the roof and chased after him. As Ashpaw turned weakly to the right, Archie flew down into the square and used his long whip-like tail to create a strong wind that blew tile after tile off the roof as the Shirshu ran by.

While Ashpaw and Silverpaw leaned up against the wall of the abbey, the dark gray tom lashed his hind paw a little. "I got the feeling back!"

But some tiles fell on him and he fell back to the ground. Silverpaw, who had a little more luck than he, fell back down also. When Ashpaw continued to try his best, he turned to see Irontail testing out some perfumes near them. He seemed to find one he liked, looked around from left to right to make sure no one was looking, and then tucked the bottle into a red bag, an impish smile on his face.

_Elders._

As Goldpaw was battling Bearclaw, he suddenly meowed, "Hey! You have something I need! Give it here!"

"You'll have to work for it!" Bearclaw retorted, his lip bleeding.

They traded claw and teeth blows again with Bearclaw soon destroying the well's covering with fire. They leaped around on the lip of the well, neither one able to gain crucial advantage over the other. Goldpaw was really trying to grab something, but he failed to do so. Then Bearclaw lunged after Goldpaw and the dark tabby missed his mark.

As he passed, Goldpaw put his hind paw through the loop of a familiar object, catching it.

_Silverpaw's necklace! How'd he find it? _Ashpaw thought with wonder.

Goldpaw leaped down the well, with Bearclaw firing huge gouts of flame after him in pure fury. Ashpaw was afraid Bearclaw finally won, but then the tabby was launched high into the air as the Avatar Cat reappeared on top of a giant jet of water and landed in front of his friends. Rain from the huge jet of water began falling around him, quickly followed by Bearclaw hitting the ground hard.

The large dark brown tabby cat got back up and the fight began once more, but this time, Archie advanced hostilely on Bearclaw, towering over him. Before the dragon could attack however, the Shirshu lashed his face six times in a row with his tongue. Archie tried his best to stay up, but he couldn't, so he keeled over, paralyzed.

Then Madame Superior put some kind of perfume under the noses of Silverpaw and Ashpaw, and they were able to move better. It also gave Ashpaw a great idea; it was time to use his gift of wisdom the _right_ way.

"Guys, that wolf-thing can smell with its nose," he told Silverpaw and Madame Superior. "How about we give it something to smell better?"

"I suppose we shall!" the elderly black-&-gray she-cat meowed, determination hardening her meow. Ashpaw and Silverpaw gave a nod to her and the three of them went right to work.

Soon enough, pairs of sisters and Ashpaw were moving huge white pots of perfume out into the courtyard. Ashpaw looked up from pushing to see Goldpaw dodging Bearclaw's fire blasts and the Shirshu's tongue on the opposite wall while his body bled. At his tail signal, the sisters then pushed the perfume onto the ground. Silverpaw waved her tail and WaterBended the perfume into a huge wall, moved it over the Shirshu, and dropped it.

The monster shook off the liquid and Ashpaw was afraid that it wouldn't work, but he saw it was now awfully confused as it sniffed from left to right. It suddenly lashed out its tongue, but the two WaterClan cats were able to avoid it this time. But they saw Bearclaw receiving a tongue-lashing from the monster, followed by April.

"April! No!" Irontail called as he leaped under her and caught her with the she-cat on his chest. Meanwhile, the Shirshu was still on a rampage as it smashed open a few more jars, pawed at the tiles of the roof of one of the buildings, and then jumped over the wall and disappeared.

It was finally over, but when Ashpaw tried to nudge Goldpaw's shoulder kindly, the golden tom gave him a blank look, the same one he gave Silverpaw. He signaled toward the mending Archie with his tail, telling them to get on. So all three cats got on board and took off through the air.

But when Ashpaw looked back, he could see Bearclaw and Irontail lying flat on the ground. The fat gray tabby tomcat had April wrapped across his chest, his foreleg around her.

"Uncle? Are you okay?" Bearclaw moaned. "I didn't see the tongue hit you."

But he was shushed by Irontail, who was pointing to the awakening and angry she-cat.

**...**

As Archie flew onwards toward the sunset in the sky, Goldpaw turned to face the two WaterClan cats. Ashpaw could see that the golden apprentice was still upset at them for leaving him; it was very close to apologizing.

"Where are we going now?" Goldpaw sighed. "To find your dad?"

"Nope!" Silverpaw purred. "We're taking you to the Northern WaterClan! We're still gonna find you a mentor!"

Goldpaw's sad look turned to surprise as he meowed, "Really? But Ashpaw," he added, turning to him, "I thought you guys wanted to see Emberstar?"

"Well," Ashpaw began, choosing his words wisely, "we _do_ want to see him again, we really do. But you're part of the family, and you'll need us more."

Silverpaw piped in, "And we need you, Goldpaw."

_I know it's hard, but you found somehow_

_To look into your heart and to forgive me now_

_You've given me the strength to see just where my journey ends_

_You've given me the strength to carry on_

"Thank you," Goldpaw meowed, dipping his head to them. Then he turned back to Ashpaw and meowed, "Ashpaw, I-I'm so sorry I hid the map-"

Ashpaw broke him off with a wave with his tail and replied, "Goldpaw, you don't have to. I'm the one who should say sorry. I've been such a complete douche to you the past two days. It's just...I wanted to see Dad again so badly, and I thought that hiding the map made you a traitor. But you proved to be a purer warrior than us, buddy."

He then added more to the apology by touching noses with his AirClan friend. Silverpaw added her apology and did the same thing Ashpaw did, touching noses with Goldpaw.

Ashpaw felt that Tigerstar was completely wrong. He could have friends from other Clans._ But as long as I can remember where I came from, we'll all be okay._

_I see the path from this dark place_

_I see my future_

_Your forgiveness has set me free_

_Oh, and I can see another way_

_I can face another day!_

Goldpaw purred happily at the friendly gesture they gave him, but he looked to Silverpaw, his eyes lowered. "Silverpaw, I wish I got you something to remind you of WaterClan..." He was mewing this as he turned away from her.

"Goldpaw, don't worry. I'll be fine," Silverpaw reassured him.

"But I still wish I got you a trinket...like this!" Goldpaw suddenly added, turning around back at her. The blue fox fang necklace was dangling in his smiling jaws.

Ashpaw was at first afraid that Silverpaw would yell at him and the entire fiasco would begin all over again and be permanent this time. But to his delight, Silverpaw let out a squeal of surprise and joy as Goldpaw got the necklace back around her neck. She never looked happier than ever before

Silverpaw rasped, "How'd...?"

Goldpaw shuffled his paws and replied with a bit of jealousy, "Bearclaw told me to give it back to you."

"Aww! That's so sweet of Bearclaw to think that!" Silverpaw meowed, although Ashpaw could tell that she was sarcastic. Then she meowed sweetly, "Can you give him a lick from me the next time we see him?"

"Of course!" Goldpaw meowed, purring.

Silverpaw stepped toward him and tenderly licked the golden Avatar Cat on the cheek. As Goldpaw looked down at his paws with his cheeks turning red, Ashpaw purred to see that his sister was getting along well with Goldpaw more than just friends.

She had often licked Goldpaw on the cheek, but this one may have been deeper. It didn't matter, Ashpaw thought as Archie flew into the sunset. It was a sign of something greater...

_To be continued..._

**...**

**Holly: (To Katara in shock) So you were with Sokka when he yelled at Aang?**

**Katara: Yes. But I didn't yell at him.**

**Holly: But you sure didn't defend him! And you just flat out told him he betrayed you!**

**Katara: I didn't-**

**AvatarCat12: ENOUGH! (They stop arguing) If you two are gonna argue, take it outside! And until you stop arguing, I'll work alone!**

**(Katara and Holly stare at him in shock before leaving the office)**

**AvatarCat12: Sorry about that, everyone. But what I said is true. Unless they stop arguing, they won't come back at all. But anyways, here's the preview for The Traitor.**

**Preview: Goldpaw and his friends arrive in a village celebrating FireClan. When they leave the festival, they hear of a rogue who is a master in FireBending. Meanwhile, Thornflare continues his hunt for Goldpaw.**

**The first person who reviews this chapter will say the disclaimer and other stuff for the next chapter. Flames will not be allowed; I'll use 'em for S'Mores as usual. Constructive criticism is allowed, as long as it's not too harsh.**

**See ya next time!**


	18. The Traitor

**AvatarCat12: Okay, just to let you know, Katara and Holly are still mad at each other. So for now, until they pull their act together, they can't come back here. And for now, I'll have to work by myself.**

**fanfic meister: What about us?**

**AvatarCat12: Sorry. I forgot you, snowwhistle, and the others for a moment.**

**Kyuubi: That's okay. Can I say the disclaimer for now?**

**fanfic meister: And I'll say the summary.**

**Disclaimer: There's no way AvatarCat12 owns Avatar: The Last AirBender or Warrior Cats. Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter own them.**

**Summary: Goldpaw and his friends arrive in a village celebrating FireClan. When they leave the festival, they hear of a rogue who is a master in FireBending. Meanwhile, Thornflare continues his hunt for Goldpaw.**

**Updating Date: January 10, 2012**

**AvatarCat12, fanfic meister, and Kyuubi: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Traitor_

It was late afternoon as the sun started to sink slowly behind the trees. Silverpaw, Goldpaw, and Ashpaw were strolling around in the northern EarthClan territory while trying to hunt for some prey. Ever since all three cats made up after the incident with Emberstar's message, Goldpaw had become closer to Silverpaw than a spider on a cobweb.

But it was comforting to her...

While Tobias flew around the trees looking for a bird or two to eat, Archie let out a growl to let the cats see what he was looking at: a round notice board which Tobias landed on. As Silverpaw padded around the board while looking at the notices, Ashpaw gnawed on a trout bone which was almost stripped of its meat.

Silverpaw sniffed the notices and meowed to her friends, "Hey guys, look. It's nice to see what's going on around this area."

"Well, see if you can find a list of prey on there. My belly's still empty after this trout!" Ashpaw mewled.

While Silverpaw rolled her eyes and flicked her tail at him, Goldpaw came up from behind them and pointed to another notice, his dark gray eyes filled with wonder. Silverpaw had promised to never abandon him after the risky episode from a few days before, but she felt a twinge of unease at what he said next.

"Here's a place where you'll find some food, Ashpaw! It's a FireClan Honor festival!" Leaning forward, Goldpaw read, "_'Welcome to ye olde FireClan Festival, home of performers, jugglers, clowns, Benders, and more animals than ever seen before!' _This'll be a good time for studying FireBending!"

Ashpaw looked closer at another notice on the board and shook his head regretfully. "I don't think so, Goldpaw. Look at this notice here."

Silverpaw thought her brother was just saying something to distract the Avatar Cat. But what she was did make her think it over.

In front of them was a poster of Goldpaw, but it was a wanted poster. To the left, there was a wanted poster for a black animal with a red mask called the Red Demon, and to the right was a wanted poster of an elderly ginger tom with a white blaze going down his face to his chest and snake-like yellow eyes. It looked like FireClan was hunting down elders too.

"It's a poster of me!" Goldpaw squeaked with surprise as Silverpaw padded over to inspect it also.

"But it's a WANTED poster. It's _bad_," Ashpaw retorted. "It reads '_Wanted: The Avatar Cat. This cat knows AirBending, can created whirlwinds, and runs faster than the north wind. Hunters, be very careful when you hunt this cat down.'"_

Silverpaw gave the poster one more cautious glance before meowing, "Ashpaw's right, Goldpaw. It's best if we keep moving. We don't want to be fresh-kill of any FireClan warrior."

Goldpaw stepped in the way and protested, "Aw, come on, you guys! Sometime later, I have to learn FireBending! This is going to be one of my only chances to learn FireBender up close! So please don't run off like whiny little asses!"

Part of Silverpaw bristled when she heard that; not only the "whiny little asses" part, but also the fact that he was going to walk into a FireClan festival and learn it up close. She was afraid that Goldpaw would get caught, burned, or even killed. But he did have a point; he really had to learn FireBending sometime later on.

"Um...sure... We can check this festival out..." she finally decided as she still felt unsure and pawed the ground.

Ashpaw gaped at her as if she had grown an extra head. "_What?_ Are you mouse-brained, you two? Are we really gonna pad right into that fiesta where they're drunk or fired up with more fire?"

Silverpaw sat down, licked her hind paw, and started scratching her ear with it. "Don't worry your tail off, Ashpaw. We'll just go in there with different pelts and markings. If there's going to be any trouble, we'll get out as soon as we can."

At this, she got up and began leading Goldpaw to Archie while Ashpaw lagged behind. He was muttering to no one before padding away from the poster of the ginger cat.

"Sure. Fine. Because we always leave before trouble comes to us," he muttered.

**...**

Archie plodded beside the three cats outside of the town on a lonely hill. It was now dusk and the three cats were going into disguise and sneak into the festival without arousing suspicion. Silverpaw was sure that it was going to work; Ashpaw had brought along several bowls of paint to create markings or new pelt colors.

_I know what I'm going to be! _Goldpaw thought to himself with glee.

Just then, he turned to Archie and Tobias, meowing to them, "You guys should hide too. We'll tell you about it when we get back."

As if they could understand him, Tobias flapped his wings, rose into the air, and flew off into the shadowy trees. Archie, meanwhile, followed him and tried to hide behind a bush nearby, even though that hawthorn bush was just around as tall as a badger on its hind legs. But to Goldpaw, that was good enough.

"Good!" Goldpaw purred. To his friends, he added, "All right! Let's get our disguises ready!"

In a few minutes, they were now in their own disguises. Ashpaw was in his own natural dark gray tabby pelt, but there was a white splash on his chest and face. Silverpaw had splotches of ginger and black on her silver pelt so that she had a silver tortoiseshell pelt. Goldpaw, however, had his pelt look just like a Dalmatian, but his arrow markings were invisible thanks to the white paint.

As Goldpaw grinned in a silly way at his friends, Silverpaw giggled at this act. She felt rather impressed with her friend, while Ashpaw shook his head curtly.

"Oh, I can REALLY tell you're different," the gray tabby meowed sarcastically.

Ignoring the sarcastic tone and a sudden rustling in the bushes, Goldpaw kinked his tail to the town and meowed, "Now let's go!"

**...**

The three Clan apprentices already made it into the festival and they stared around them with amazement. Above them in the StarClan-filled sky, fireworks of all colors blocked the starlight, making things brighter. Around them, kits were playing with each other, revelers sprinted by in elaborate costumes including cats nearly totally hidden in a dragon outfit (that looked nothing like Archie), and all partakers were wearing multicolored masks.

"Wow," Silverpaw meowed, realizing that the masks could help them some more. "We gotta get some new disguises."

"So where the hell are we gonna find masks like those mugs?" Ashpaw asked her, his pale blue eyes unconvinced and bothered.

"Masks! Get your unique masks over here!" A voice was calling from a stands where masks were set on display. Several cats were crowding around it, pretending to scare one another or showing them off to their friends.

While Silverpaw and Goldpaw went ahead to the mask display, Ashpaw shrugged and meowed with enthusiasm, "Huh! That was easy."

In a few minutes, they were all wearing three masks: Goldpaw had a drama sad mask, Ashpaw had a drama happy mask, and Silverpaw had a swan mask. But Silverpaw felt that the masks didn't match the moods of her friends; Ashpaw was the grumpy one and Goldpaw was the happy one.

So she changed the toms' masks around so that Goldpaw had the drama happy mask. She made sure Ashpaw had the drama sad mask since he was much of a grumpy badger anyways! Happy that the masks now matched the temperament of the owner, she led the other two into the square.

"Hey guys. Do you smell something?" Goldpaw asked them as he lifted his head in the air.

Silverpaw could tell that he was sniffing something, so she followed suit. There was a crispy spicy scent in the air that made her nose feel like it was on fire. _Great StarClan, that stings!_

Silverpaw sniffed the air again and replied, "Yeah, but it stings my nose!"

"Fancy some food over there, Ashpaw? Because there might be some over there," Goldpaw meowed back, wrinkling his nose.

Ashpaw let out a sniffing noise to smell the food as he purred, "Finally!" and padded over to a nearby stand where some cats gathered at. When the other cats cleared out carrying bags in their mouths, he asked the merchant (which was a green-&yellow parrot), "So what do you have?"

The parrot squawked, "_Blazing volcano gummies! Best in town!" _Silverpaw could recall that parrots were able to mimic the speech of any animal quite well, especially the now-extinct Twolegs.

"I'll take some!" Ashpaw purred as the parrot picked up a bag in its beak and handed it over to Ashpaw. When that was done, the dark gray tabby leaped down from the counter, dug into the bag, and gulped down a gummy. But then he started to screech with steam coming out of his ears and he removed his mask to lap some water in a barrel nearby.

"Hot! Hot! Hot!" the WaterClan apprentice was yelping as he lapped up more water quickly.

Silverpaw leaped up beside her brother and purred with amusement. "Blazing volcano gummies, eh? I guess I know how it got its name!"

While Ashpaw gave her a frustrated growl, Goldpaw called to them, "Hey, check this out!"

The three cats approached what seemed to be a kitten theatre. Kits were scattered here and there, cheering happily and their tails waving. The curtain of the puppet stage drew open and a puppet of the black-furred FireClan leader appeared onstage.

_Aww, they're so cute! _Silverpaw cooed silently, thinking what it'd be like if she had kits of her own. She was almost certain she wanted the father of her kits to be...

"Do not worry, FireClan!" the puppet was calling to the audience. "No one can defeat Darkstar!"

Behind him, an EarthBending cat puppet rose up, with a rock at the ready to strike the FireClan leader puppet. Immediately, the kits started to cry out warnings; both Goldpaw and Silverpaw were tempted to join in. The FireClan leader puppet turned suddenly around and torched the EarthBender puppet with huge gouts of fire. The audience cheered and both Goldpaw and Silverpaw had to cheer with them to Ashpaw's disapproval.

_What? They're so cute! _Silverpaw told him in her mind.

The three apprentices turned away from the puppet show and headed back towards another stage with a large crowd in front of it. On this stage, there was a single performer.

"Look! What in StarClan is going on there?" Silverpaw meowed to the "golden" Avatar Cat, pointing her tail to the stage.

Goldpaw just shrugged, but he mewed, "You know what? I don't know, but there's a damn good crowd over there. So it must be a good one!"

"Since it's FireClan, it may include a prisoner having their eyes pecked out by crows," Ashpaw muttered darkly, glaring over at the stage. But he didn't complain when they started to pad over.

They saw the stage much closer; it had four thin pillars with fire washbowls at their tops. The performer was a ginger tabby FireBender who was manipulating fire with his tail for the crowd's enjoyment. He concluded the act by extinguishing his fire and producing a small flock of white birds that flew off the stage while some ended up as fresh-kill for other cats.

The three cats gazed up at the stage with Goldpaw partially removing his mask to follow the flight of the birds. He caught one and looked ahead, a big smile on his face behind the feathers.

"Wow," he gasped. "I wanna learn that trick soon."

Silverpaw and Ashpaw shushed him before turning back to the stage.

"Thank you, everyone! You're all too kind!" the ginger tabby called as the audience cheered for him. "Now for my next act, I would like to have the assistance of a volunteer from the audience! Would anyone like to step forward?"

To Silverpaw's astonishment, Goldpaw was jumping up and down on the spot, trying to get the Performer's attention. Both WaterClan apprentices shoved him to the ground and put their paws to his mouth.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ashpaw hissed angrily, yet there was a bit of fear in his voice.

"What?" Goldpaw retorted, nipping his friends' paws and getting back onto his feet. "I was just gonna see if I get accepted!"

Silverpaw agreed with her brother; they were here to keep to themselves, not bring trouble like a skunk spraying a wolf in its den. In the Southern WaterClan territory, there were no other cats to socialize with, but these cats aren't much to socialize with.

"But he's right, Goldpaw," she reasoned. "I think it'll be best if we don't attract attention."

But to her shock and astonishment, the ginger tabby Performer pointed his muzzle at her and called to her, "What about you, lovely little she-cat? Would you like to come up here?"

"Uh...I don't feel like it," Silverpaw groaned, backing away and shaking her head.

"Aww, she's a shy little thing, isn't she?" the ginger tabby tomcat purred with amusement. The he raised his muzzle and yowled, "Come on, everyone! Leeet's give her cheer, she-cats and toms!"

Some other cat from the audience nudged Silverpaw over to the edge of the stage. When she got there, the Performer grabbed her by the scruff and hauled her up onto the stage next to him. Goldpaw gave a groan of disappointment.

"Oh, I wish I was up there instead!" he muttered. At that moment, a masked blue tabby-&-white cat joined up with him and Ashpaw.

_I don't think he'll want to wish that. _Silverpaw watched as the ginger tabby Performer padded away and returned at once with a stool in his jaws. He set it down onto the center of the stage and beckoned for her to sit down with his tail. She did just that, digging her claws into the stool when she got to the top.

Silverpaw felt a little scared while the ginger tabby tied her legs and tail to the stool with red ribbons. "My next trick will be called 'Taming the Wyvern!'" he declared. "And you will be the damsel in distress!" he added softly to her.

But Silverpaw thought through her scared mind, _Let me go, bastard! I don't wanna be up here! And I'm no damsel in distress! _This was true, for since she took the WaterBending book from the pirate cats, she became a more powerful cat than she was during regular training.

But she let her mind wander to the jet of flame the Performer summoned with his tail. He had begun to FireBend a huge flame from the fires at the top of each pillar. He looped it dangerously close to Silverpaw and back out. He seemed to control it by a flame rope that connected its head to the Performer's front paws. On a few minutes, the fire took to the form of a Wyvern dragon.

Silverpaw squealed with horror, but the Performer purred, "Ah, don't you worry, my fair lady! I shall tame the savage beast!" He played around with the fiery dragon and exclaimed, "Uh-oh! It's too strong!"

Suddenly, Silverpaw heard Goldpaw gasp in the crowd, "Ashpaw! She's in trouble! We gotta save her!"

"Hold on, Goldpaw!" hissed Ashpaw as he blocked the way. "We can't go and make a scene in the middle of this crowd! Let's just wait and see what happens next."

The silver she-cat knew that she had faith in her brother; after all, family mattered as much as the Avatar Cat. But she was a little bit anxious about what her dark gray tabby brother told Goldpaw. Were they really going to watch her squirm her way out like a snake in an eagle's talons?

"The rope's breaking!" the Performer called out to the audience while it cheered.

The rope broke away and the fiery Wyvern dragon charged straight at Silverpaw, who cowered and cried out for help. Just then, she saw Goldpaw AirBending himself out of the audience, both Ashpaw and the blue tabby just failing to restrain him. Right when the fiery dragon almost got to Silverpaw, Goldpaw leaped in between the two, twisted around, and created a twister that dissolved the flaming beast with a shower of confetti.

The Performer got to his feet and hissed at Goldpaw, "Hey, kit! What the hell you tryin' to do, upstage me?"

Goldpaw didn't reply, but he did stare up at wonder at the confetti he had just created. Seeing that the cats were yowling carping yowls at him, he just started doing a weird dance called The Worm to entertain them. Ashpaw, meanwhile, ran up to his sister and clipped off the ribbons tying her to the stool.

But when Silverpaw leaped down from the stool, the Performer took a closer look at Goldpaw and exclaimed, "Wait a minute! That's the Avatar Cat!"

Silverpaw took off her mask and glanced around at her AirClan friend. Already, perhaps because of the heat, the white paint melted off to reveal his golden face with the white arrow stripe on his forehead. She gasped with horror for she saw that her face paint was also melting off, revealing her silvery-gray face.

When three FireClan warriors prowled straight for them, Ashpaw nudged both cats off the stage quickly, wiped off the white paint on his chin, and he called to them, "Guys, let's go! They're coming right for us!"

"Follow me! I'll git 'cha dudes outta here!"

The blue tabby-&-white tom from earlier was standing near a hole in the wall as he waved his tail at them, prompting them to go through the hole. But Silverpaw hesitated a bit. _Does he want us to...follow him? Can we trust him?_

With a yowl splitting the night colorful air, Silverpaw realized there was no time to think about it now. When all three apprentices got to the other side of the hole, the blue tabby tom tossed a smoke bomb at the approaching warriors' paws obscuring their view.

After that, the four cats dashed down alleyway after alleyway and square after square. But with another yowl from the warriors on their tails, they ran faster. Silverpaw felt they couldn't run forever, but if they didn't hurry, they would be caught.

Goldpaw huffed, "That's it, I'm calling Archie!" Packs of pursing warrior cats joined together behind them as Goldpaw reached into his orange bag and pulled out his dragon whistle. Then he blew as hard as he could, but there still seemed to be a bee-like hum coming from it.

"Goldpaw, you better pray to StarClan Archie hears that, because _I_ can't!" Ashpaw panted as he ran alongside the golden Avatar Cat.

"This way!" the blue tabby called as he ran to an alley. But then he ran back out, calling, "Shit! Not this way! Dead end!"

He turned around, but the exit was blocked by warriors. The masked blue tabby tomcat threw another exploding smoke bomb and then leaped over them into another alley. When the Clan cats joined up with him, they saw that this one was a dead too; it ended in a high wall. On the other side was a huge supply dump of fireworks. A roar from above told them that Archie arrived just in the nick time.

Archie landed quickly between the apprentices and the warriors with his tail facing his foes. The Asian Lung whipped his whip-like tail on the ground, and the strong wind that resulted blew the warriors out of the alley to land in a confused pile some distance away. As they leaped back into the alley, Archie had already taken off with the four cats and Tobias on him.

On his back, the blue tabby bit the top off of some bomb-like object, whose fuse was now lit. He hurled it at the fireworks supply and it blew up in an awesome display of colors and sounds. As they flew away, the blue tabby removed his mask as he watched the town and the fireworks from afar.

Goldpaw nudged the cat and purred, "That was awesome when you set the fireworks off!"

"I'll say!" Ashpaw piped up. "It seems you know your bombs right!"

The blue tabby tomcat turned around to face them. Silverpaw backed away a little when she saw that he was missing one of his green eyes. But his voice was kind as he replied, "Eh, I'm familiar with 'em."

Ashpaw gaped at the missing eye and the scars on his blue pelt. "Hey! You're a FireClan cat!"

"_Was _a FireClan cat," the blue tabby cat murmured as he turned to look at the fireworks. "The name's Daisuke. I used to be a warrior named Bluepelt."

Goldpaw looked down at the wanted poster of this cat. It read: "__Wanted: Bluepelt. This cat was a captain in the FireClan army, but he is a coward and a traitor. He is four years old and skilled with explosives. He is also mentally unstable. Bounty hunters should be cautious."__

__So this is the same cat!__

**...**

As the four cats, dragon, and hawk surrounded the campfire in the snow (all four were back into their normal fur colors), the three apprentices settled down to listen to the rogue's story. It looked like Daisuke had been dying to tell the Avatar Cat about this

"I'm in an alliance with a cat," Daisuke explained, going into his story after taking a bit out of his lizard. "He's actually more than a cat; he's a myth, but he's so real at the same time! He's a living legend, that Hayato the Traitor. He was a FireClan senior warrior named Snake-eyes, though I like to call him Snake...or wait, was he really a senior warrior?"

"We get it, okay? He was a high-ranked cat," Ashpaw muttered.

Silverpaw guessed that he still wasn't over the shock of speaking with a FireClan cat, though Redspots the Elder-Sage wasn't a problem. He was the red-spotted elder who helped Goldpaw talk to Whitestorm, the Avatar Cat before him.

Daisuke nodded his head eagerly and purred, "Oh, hell yeah! He sure was a LONG way up there! But when he was almost chosen as deputy without an apprentice, he couldn't take it any longer. He was the first FireClan cat ever to leave the Clan...and live." Noticing their looks, he added, "I'm the second...though I don't get famous. But that's okay! Hayato's a FireBending prodigy! Some cats say he's mad, but he's not! He was enlightened by StarClan!"

"There's a FireClan cat not allied with Darkstar?" Goldpaw asked with hope. When Daisuke nodded, the golden cat sat up and meowed to his companions, "Let's go, you two! We have to go see this Hayato! He can teach me all about FireBending!"

Silverpaw had to agree with him. This was perhaps a good time for him to learn FireBending before the time of greenleaf was coming to an end. But some part her told her not to; besides, he would have to learn Water first, then Earth would come after that, then Fire after that.

Ashpaw wasn't moving, however. Instead, he shook his head, growling, "Uh-uh! We're not going to see some mad old FireBender!"

"Dude, watch the damn insults!" Daisuke growled, standing onto his paws with his fur bristling. "I've told you he's not mad! He's. A. FireBending. Genius! He'll be the perfect cat to mentor the Avatar Cat! That's the reason why I followed you three to the festival! That and my belly was growling!" he added sheepishly. He pushed forward a wanted poster; it had the same cat that read:

__Wanted: Snake-eyes. This cat was a FireClan admiral among the warriors. He is eight years old and has yellow snake-like eyes. He appears weak, but he is actually a master in Firebending and should be approached with caution.__

Finally, Ashpaw did stand up, but he ruined the good mood by retorting, "Listen, Daisuke. We thank you for all the help you gave to us, but we can't spend time here. We gotta keep moving north to the Northern WaterClan to find a WaterBending mentor for Goldpaw."

He turned to Goldpaw, but he turned away from him with a hurt look on his young face. While Silverpaw gave her brother a reproachful stare, the golden AirBender blocked the way.

"Ashpaw, please!" he mewed. "This might be the only chance I'd have to meet a FireBending mentor. He can teach me! I know he will!"

"Yeah!" Silverpaw added, standing beside her friend. "It won't kill you if we just go over and talk to him! I mean-"

"Yeah, and that's what you said when you talked about going to that festival!" Then he mimicked her voice in a not-too-hurtful way, "_' If there's going to be any trouble, we'll get out as soon as we can.'_ What a weird thing to say! Why can't a cat listen to me just once?"

As Ashpaw turned around to stalk away from the pack, he almost ran right into a jaw full of sharp yellow fangs. In a flash to Silverpaw's dismay, they were immediately surrounded by rogue tomcats wearing straw hats and body-armor like an Ankylosaurus and wielding spears in their jaws.

"Don't move, assholes!"

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

As Goldpaw's pack and Daisuke padded through the woods, the dark brown tabby cat that called on the ambush whirled around at Daisuke. "Mouse-brain! Didn't you listen to Hayato when he told you NOT to look for the Avatar Cat?"

"Wait a minute!" Ashpaw, who was silent when they were captured, spoke up. "Daisuke, do you know these cats?"

"Yep!" the blue-furred rogue purred happily. "Mikio and I are great buddies! Right, Mikio?" he added, nudging the dark brown rogue on the shoulder with his muzzle.

But all Mikio gave him was a hard cuffing with his paw even though his claws were sheathed. He spat, "Shut up, dumbass! You best keep moving if you know what's good for you!"

So they proceeded to move on through the forest with the moon slowly crawling its way through the night sky. When Goldpaw looked up to the path again, he saw that all the cats including him had arrived at a small abandoned shack right near the water. A cherry blossom tree with barely any leaves on the branches hung over the shack.

_Maybe Hayato prefers to catch fish over other stuff?_ Goldpaw guessed.

Suddenly, Mikio pushed Daisuke forward as he growled, "Go on, you little wisecracker! Hayato will be waiting in there for you. And he wants to see you only."

There was a change of look in the blue tabby-&-white tom's eyes as Goldpaw watched this scene. Then Daisuke meowed, "Uh...that's okay, Mikio. We can chat some other time! Maybe over a bowl of cream?"

"So that's where Hayato lives?" Goldpaw asked the two rogue tomcats. When they nodded, he purred, "Good! I have to see him straight away!"

With a jolt of joy, he started to run forward, but Mikio leaped forward and pinned him to the ground. "No! He doesn't want to see you right now! You'll see him when he _wants_ you to. And as for you," he added, shoving Daisuke forward roughly, "Hayato's waiting for you! Go now!"

Daisuke lowered his ears and retorted, "All right, all right! I'm going! Sheesh!" To the three Clan apprentices, he added, "Hey, don't worry, you three. Everything will be okay. He's an awesome cat!" Before going into the shack, he looked over his shoulder and added, "Awesome cat!"

And after that, he went inside. Goldpaw sat down and eagerly awaited his turn to speak to this powerful rogue. He couldn't wait to start practicing the Fire Claw technique for the Fire Spin attack; with those moves in his paws, he could easily take out Darkstar in one blow and defeat him.

Goldpaw thought while sinking his claws into the dirt, _I can't wait!_

**...**

"So...the Avatar Cat has indeed been around here? And you useless shits let him get away?"

Thornflare, the FireClan deputy, had arrived at the festival just as it closed down; he had stopped the warriors from leaving. He was going to give them such a tongue-lashing that they wouldn't forget. The dark brown stumpy-tailed tomcat had a few warriors of his own flanking him in case he was attacked.

"Yes, sir," one of the warriors, a dark gray tabby muttered, lowering his head. But he looked up and meowed, "But besides, the festival went off like a hitch! There were no fights and no theft."

But when he said that, Thornflare heard crumbling and he watched as a piece of burning wall fell down with a massive crash. However, he turned back to the warriors with a snarl.

He growled, "Look, I don't care about what crimes go on about in this town. Let me ask you this one more time: which way did the Avatar Cat and his pack go to?"

The dark gray tabby tom stood on his hind legs and pointed his paw to the woods, meowing, "I think they headed down to the forest right near the river."

"Good," Thornflare purred. He flicked his ear to his warriors to come to him, and they obeyed. "Warriors of FireClan. Prepare the river boats and make sure no slugs are on them. We have an Avatar Cat to capture..."

**...**

A soft rustling woke Goldpaw up from his sleep and he turned around to see where it was coming from. Then he saw that Daisuke was padding out of Hayato's shack and his battle-scarred face looked troubled. Goldpaw quickly woke his friends up and they padded over to the blue-furred rogue.

"So what happened?" Goldpaw asked the rogue when they got to him. "Can I go see Hayato now?"

Daisuke didn't say anything first while he sat down on the ground. But then what he said next made Goldpaw's fur bristle with dismay: "Sorry, Goldpaw, but Hayato doesn't want to see ya. He got mad when I told him I brought you guys here. He says you three should leave right."

"Thank StarClan!" Ashpaw muttered, stretching his jaws into a large yawn. "Come on, you two. Let's get moving!"

Goldpaw and Silverpaw, however, didn't move or follow the dark gray tabby tom. Instead, Goldpaw asked Daisuke, "Why the hell won't Hayato see me?"

"He says you're not ready to FireBend," the blue tabby plainly replied. "He said you haven't even finished your WaterBending and EarthBending training just yet."

"But how'd he know that?" Silverpaw asked him with astonishment, silently agreeing with this cat.

Daisuke shrugged and just meowed, "He could tell by the way he saw you ran toward his shack. That's why."

Having enough with this, Goldpaw snorted and meowed, "I don't care if he wants to repel all the badgers on this planet. I still need to talk to him!" And ignoring Daisuke jumping into his path, the Avatar Cat went around him and started padding to the small shack.

Goldpaw padded over to the entrance to Hayato's hut, took a very deep breath, pushed apart the curtain, and padded into the darkness. A furious growl made him look upward. Sitting on top of some boxes surrounded by a semicircle of lit candles was a ginger tom with a white stripe going down his face and snake-like yellow eyes glaring down at him.

_This is Hayato? _Goldpaw thought as he took one step nearer. He wondered where he saw this cat before, but the answer hit him like the blow of a badger's paw. He saw his picture while he and Silverpaw were looking at a wanted poster of himself back before they went into the festival.

_THIS is Hayato!_

"Leave! Get out of my shack!" the ginger rogue snarled.

"But sir, I have to learn FireBending right away!" Goldpaw protested, taking a pawstep closer. "Please?"

Hayato just snorted. "Ha. Only foolish cats seek out their destruction. Look how Tigerstar, leader of ShadowClan and later TigerClan, died! He was seeking out his destruction right when he had killed his deputy Redtail! And look where it got him! Killed by Scourge of BloodClan!"

Goldpaw didn't take a step forth to avoid upsetting Hayato any further, so he sat down. He cleared his throat and began again. "What Daisuke said was true: I am the Avatar Cat and it's my destiny to-"

"Again, HA!" Hayato spat while turning around so his back was toward him. "What would you, an immature apprentice, know about destiny? If an ant lives its whole life in the tree towering above this shack, does it know the tree's destiny? Of course not! Only that it grows and sheds its leaves on and out of the ant's control! It may follow where it grows, but it cannot see the end. It cannot even imagine the heavens above."

"All right..." Goldpaw muttered silently; he had no idea what this cat was meowing about ants or trees. He wanted to learn FireBending as quickly as he could. "But listen. I AM the Avatar Cat and an Avatar Cat's duty is to master all four Bending disciplines."

Hayato didn't turn around to face him, but he scoffed, "You must first master discipline itself in order to master the Bending disciplines. But since you have no interest in this, I have no interest in the likes of you! Now, get out and do not return."

Goldpaw didn't move from his own spot. _When will he get past his obduracy? _he thought angrily to himself. But outwardly, he meowed calmly, "But I have to learn FireBending. This could be my only chance to ever-"

"Are you a deaf little kit?" Hayato snarled, facing him with his yellow eyes glaring at him like a snake would; it was quite scary. "How can I be your mentor if you refuse to listen? You must be the one to master Water and Earth before you can move on to Fire. Water is cool and peaceful. Earth is stable and firm. But Fire! Oh, Fire is alive! It breathes and grows like a living breathing animal. Without a Bender, a rock will not throw itself into a gorge! But Fire will spread and end everything in its path if one does not have the willpower to control it! That is its destiny, but you are not ready! You are weak!"

"_You think I am weak_?" an echoing meow suddenly rang out.

In a flash, Goldpaw found himself and Hayato surrounded by flames and there was awe in the rogue's snake-like eyes. Plus, the candles have blown out and there was one cause for that. Sitting underneath a burning pine tree was Avatar Cat Whitestorm, his pelt glowing with stars.

The ginger tomcat lowered his head in respect and cried out, "No, Avatar Cat Whitestorm! I did not mean to call you weak!"

Whitestorm nodded and meowed with the sounds of Avatar Cats before him, _"Hayato, I have been able to master all four elements a thousand times over the ages and I must do so again. You will teach the Avatar Cat how to FireBend._"

"Yes, Whitestorm," the former FireClan warrior meowed, dipping his head to him in respect. Then the pine tree crumbled from above him and StarClan's hunting grounds faded away back to the shack around them. "Yes, I will teach you how to FireBend."

"You will?" Goldpaw asked him with awe and happiness. It was good to see Whitestorm again, but being able to FireBend gave him more confidence. "Awesome!"

At seeing Goldpaw's wide grin, Hayato just shook his head and groaned, "Ugh."

**...**

The next morning, Goldpaw was woken from his nest by an irate Hayato when he was called to his first FireBending lesson. Nearby at the river, Silverpaw was practicing her WaterBending while Ashpaw was patiently dipping his paw into the water. After a few moments, the dark gray tabby apprentice fished a trout out of the water and bit into its flesh.

Goldpaw crouched low onto his paws until he crouched over the water on a stone in the river. Hayato was sitting on the bank, watching him with a wary look while at the entrance of his shack.

"Spread out your legs. Make them wide," he commanded.

Goldpaw did that, but Hayato meowed, "Wider! Bend your knees!" So Goldpaw did just that, making himself feel uneasy. "Now...concentrate!"

But as the ginger tom was about to go back in, Goldpaw called out, "Wait! What should I do?"

Hayato spun around, hissing, "Silence! Do you think talking is considered concentrating? Of course not!" Pointing his tail to Goldpaw's friends, he meowed, "Look at your two friends over there! Look at your silver-pelted friend; does she have to talk to concentrate? No! And even that dark gray tabby idiot knows how to concentrate on when precisely to catch fish!"

"I heard that!" Ashpaw called back cynically as he bit into his fish again.

"What should I concentrate on?" Goldpaw sighed.

"Feel the heat of the sun," the ginger tom growled. "It is the greatest resource of fire. Despite all this, it is in total balance with nature itself!"

Goldpaw looked up at where Hayato was pointing his tail at and saw the sun large and bright in the morning sky. _From the sun, eh?_

He looked away from the sun, since it was too bright for him to stare at for too long. Goldpaw turned back to his new FireBending mentor with a big smile on his young face.

He cocked his head to one side and asked him, "When can I make fire?"

But all he received was a snarl, indicating for him to concentrate. Hayato padded into the shack until the darkness swallowed him whole.

Goldpaw breathed deeply and blushed in humiliation as he heard Silverpaw and Ashpaw purring and laughing from behind. He turned around to glare at them, but they stopped almost instantly, trying in vain to look innocent.

_Yuck it up all you want, you guys! _he thought indignantly._ I'll be good at this soon enough!_

**...**

A few hours later, Hayato and Goldpaw were padding along the pathway on the face of a mountain up to the peak. Goldpaw was puffing as he scrambled over the rocks while Hayato leapt over them with pure ease

"Why are we coming up here, Hayato? Is it because I can make fire now?" Goldpaw asked his FireBending mentor.

However, the ginger tabby shook his head and meowed, "No. No fire yet."

Disappointed and impatient, Goldpaw groaned, "Aw, shit! No fire yet? I don't think I'll survive until then!"

When they reached the top of the mountain, the young Avatar Cat thought his legs would fall off from his body. He was ready to sit down and take a small break. But when he just began sitting down, Hayato nipped him sharply on the hind legs and made him stand up again.

"Power in FireBending comes from the breath within," Hayato began explaining. "That is why you must master appropriate breath management."

"So you brought me all the way up this mountain to breathe?" Goldpaw asked him with disbelief.

But the rogue FireBender wasn't listening to him. Instead, he turned around to look at the scenery below the mountain and meowed, "Now...assume your FireBending pose!" As Goldpaw did so, Hayato meowed on, "Spread your legs out farther."

"But you're not-"

"Wider!" Hayato spat. "Now inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth...and no talking."

Goldpaw had no choice but to do what he said, but he was getting angry on the inside. Why wasn't the famous Traitor teaching him how to produce a flame from his pads? But if he spoke out now, he would lose the only chance he could ever have in learning how to FireBend. There were other FireBending cats, of course, but they were enemies.

So he continued breathing in and out, trying to concentrate.

The FireBending master nodded and meowed, "Good. Keep practicing."

Without another word, the ginger tomcat padded away without turning back and began going back down the mountain path where they had come. Feeling that he should confront Hayato later on, Goldpaw began to practice with a look of concentration and determination on his face.

**...**

His patience finally running out, Goldpaw decided to challenge his FireBending mentor after lunch. After swallowing his last bite of starling, the golden AirClan cat stomped onwards to Hayato's shack without asking to come in. Silverpaw had tried to tell him it would be rude, but he knew what he was doing.

As he stepped in, he heard Hayato's voice snarl above him. Goldpaw looked up to the ginger tom glare down at him with his snake-like eyes.

"What on earth are you doing in my shack?" Hayato growled. "Did I tell you when to stop? No!"

"I've breathed over nothing for five hours!"

"So you want to stop breathing then? Because I won't force you!"

Goldpaw shook his head angrily, unsheathed his claws, and snarled back, "It's not that! It's...I want you to stop wasting my time, you private bastard!" Then he started making some impolite motions with his claws, growling, "Even before learning, I know how to breathe, crouch, and feel the sun light up my fur! I want to learn how to make fire come from my claws!"

It seemed that he must have made a fatal blow somewhere in the elder's mind, for Hayato hung his head in disappointment. Goldpaw suddenly felt ashamed and wished he hadn't yowled at him like that.

Hayato turned away and muttered, "Ugh. When I was once a Clan cat, I had an apprentice once who was not interest in learning discipline. He was only interested in the power of fire...how he could use it to crush his enemies and wipe out everything in his path. But Fire is an awful burden to bear. Its duty is to consume, and without control, it can destroy everything. Learn discipline, or risk destroying yourself and everything you love."

Goldpaw nodded and padded out of the shack.

**...**

Thornflare waited until a gray tabby-&-white tom leaped out of a tree with his claws extended, then he jumped up and slammed him onto the deck of his boat. Then he sank his teeth into the cat's throat and lashed out with flaming claws until the cat's struggling faded. Leaving his dead opponent on deck, Thornflare lifted his bloody muzzle and looked up.

Thornflare and his warriors were attacked by a pack of former FireClan cats. But Thornflare drowned one by holding him submerged under the water, slashing another on the throat, and defeated the rest with a wall of flame and a cruel smile. Corpses of cats littered the river, yet Thornflare paid no attention to this.

As the boats traveled upstream, the forest fire that Thornflare had just started raged freely around them. Many animals fled from the fire while some perished in the flames, but that didn't matter to the FireClan deputy. All he cared about was capturing the Avatar Cat.

**...**

Goldpaw licked the fur on his chest nervously before crouching low onto the ground. He felt bad for yelling at Hayato like that; he just wanted to learn how to FireBend so badly. But this time, he was going to do it the right way, not the impatient way.

It began to snow outside. When Hayato came out of his shack, he gazed down at Goldpaw with surprise in his yellow snake-like eyes.

"What are you doing here?" There was no anger in his voice.

"I thought about what you said and...I'm sorry I got pissed at you," Goldpaw meowed as he padded away to sit on the stone in the river, hoping he could see past the rude word. "I promise I'll be more patient."

The Traitor mumbled something as he tilted his head to one side. The snow continued to blow around the two tomcats for a few moments before Hayato finally nodded. "All right. I accept your apology. And I think it's time for you to work with fire now."

Goldpaw let out a yowl of joy as he leaped into the air and began prancing around on his hind legs. But then he remembered his promise. If he acted up now, he would be rejected to learn anything. So he landed back on the stone, wrapped his tail around his paws, and assumes a grave facial appearance.

"Uh...let's begin."

**...**

Hayato sprang into the snowy air and snatched a russet-brown leaf falling along with the snow. When he landed back onto his four paws, Goldpaw was amazed that this cat was a good jumper. _He must've been trained to catch birds!_

As the FireBender pointed his claw to the center of the leaf on the stone, he burned a tiny hole into it as soon as it made contact. "Concentrate on the fire on this leaf. I want you to keep an eye on it and make sure this flame doesn't reach the edges of the leaf for as long as you can."

Goldpaw nodded and held it on top of the bridge of his nose. He was very determined to make sure that he could concentrate. The hole was spreading with the flame even as Goldpaw got into his posture and began to concentrate. Suddenly he heard a voice call out not to him, but to Hayato.

"Master! Danger!"

Goldpaw looked up quickly to see a pale gray tabby cat approach his master. Clumps of fur were missing from his shoulder, blood was pouring out of his mouth, and he had a few teeth knocked out of his jaw. He also appeared to have had an eye torn out by the way how much blood covered the socket.

Goldpaw stopped his posture for just a little bit to ask, "What's going on?"

"Never mind about that!" Hayato called back to his apprentice as he followed his guard into the forest. "Concentrate on that leaf! I will be right back."

Goldpaw nodded, but as soon as Hayato was gone, he gave a big sigh of disappointment. Here he was, trying hard to learn fire now and his mentor had to leave him! _I don't think this'll go well, _he sighed unhappily.

He heard a splash from across him and turned around. Silverpaw was standing at the snowy bank near the river and watching him.

He called over to her, forgetting his concentration, "This is the worst training ever! I want to learn how to make fire! But all that son of a bitch ever does is leave me alone to concentrate breathing!"

"I think he's going this for a good reason," Silverpaw told him, pawing at the snow.

"But there's gotta be more to do than this!"

Suddenly, as fast as a moving hippo, Goldpaw had a great idea. A wonderful idea. The Avatar Cat had a wonderfully AWFUL idea.

Remembering what Hayato told him to do, he widened his stance and began to breathe deeply. He still held the leaf on his nose, which began to smoke. Suddenly, the leaf burst into flame and disintegrated; Goldpaw was now holding a large fireball on top of his nose.

"I did it! I made fire!"

Silverpaw leaped onto the stone nearest the shore and meowed with warning, "That's really great, Goldpaw, but slow down a bit and let it catch up."

Goldpaw gave her an annoyed look as soon as he heard that comment. But when he did that, the flame on his nose suddenly became bigger. Both Clan apprentices were astonished at that.

"Careful now!" the silver she-cat warned him.

Goldpaw focused on retaining normal control and reduced the flame to its regular size, but not before almost falling into the river. "Holy shit! Now _that's_ FireBending!"

Goldpaw gave a little laugh before tossing the flame into the air with his nose and catching it on the end of his tail. He started to make a whip made of fire and looped it around him as happy as a rabbit among pikas.

He could hear Silverpaw call, "Goldpaw, be careful! You're going to get hurt! Slow down a bit!"

But he didn't listen; instead, he mewed, "Hey, I got an idea! How does that Performer's move go again?"

At this, the whip circled around him until it became a group of balls of fire surrounding him. With an upwards claw rake, he let the balls scatter around him and let them all fly in opposite directions. But what happened next made him look on in horror.

The shockwave of flame engulfed Silverpaw in a ball of fire and circled around her maliciously. It flew right at her and burned her paws and throat, which she had raised to protect her face. She let out a screech of pain.

"_MMMRRROOWWWRRR!"_

As he pulled out, he heard Silverpaw uncontrollably sobbing her heart out. Feeling a sense of danger looming around the place, Goldpaw hopped over to her and saw that she was crouched low to the ground. When she got up to back away from him, he felt a shock of guilt sting him harder than teeth when he saw what he did to her.

Her paws were burned so that the hairs were gone, and blood was pouring out of her scarred neck. Her fear-scent was also too strong for him to bear.

"S-S-Silverpaw," Goldpaw rasped as he got closer. Guilt was making him choke on the words. "I-I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to-"

"Silverpaw! What happened?" He looked up to see Ashpaw race toward them; he had dropped a fish when he had heard the screeching and crying. Then, when he saw the blood on her throat and spill onto the snowy ground, he rasped, "W-What happened?"

His sister tried to speak, but she kept coughing and crying at the same time. When she coughed, more blood poured out of her throat.

Ashpaw looked scared for her before rounding on Goldpaw furiously. "What did you do to my sister, you bastard?" he snarled.

Goldpaw backed away from him, rasping, "I-I-It was an accident! I didn't mean to! I was-" He reached forward to her, wanting to lick her ear in apology and reassurance. "Silverpaw-"

But the silver she-cat shook her head and limped away from him into the forest, crying her heart out still. Suddenly, he felt claws slash at his chest and fell to the ground with Ashpaw pinning him down, anger glowing in his pale blue eyes. Goldpaw didn't bother to try throwing him off; he was still too shocked after what happened.

"Didn't you hear me say for these past two days not to mess around things that are FireClan? _DID YOU?_" Ashpaw roared angrily in his face. When Goldpaw shook his head, too shocked to answer, Ashpaw snarled, "You are so stupid! Now look what you've done, you fucking bastard! You burned my sister!"

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

_I hurt his sister!_

Goldpaw could feel pure shame warm up his ears while pushed down in the snow by Ashpaw. Despite that, he wasn't angry at his friend; he knew Ashpaw was just trying to defend his little sister.

"You hurt my sister, you bastard!"

Ashpaw wasn't yelling at him now; instead, he had gotten off of him and turned around to snarl at Hayato. The ginger tom had returned, looking on with shock in his snake-like yellow eyes.

"This is all your fault, rogue! If you hadn't taught him to FireBend, none of this would've ever happened!"

"I KNOW!" Hayato roared angrily. But he hung his head in sorrow and repeated more softly, "I know. Now please, pack your things and leave my territory now. You must never return."

Goldpaw got back up from the snow and padded toward Ashpaw, pleading with him, "Ashpaw, I didn't mean to-"

But Ashpaw stalked away from him, snarling over his shoulder, "Just leave me alone right now, Goldpaw. Don't you EVER hurt my sister like that ever again! If you ever hurt her like that ever again, I'll shred you to kit's bedding!"

Without another word, he stalked away into the opposite direction without looking back.

"I'm sorry!"

The words echoed back into his head when he was left alone, looking very implacable. Hayato padded up to Goldpaw and pressed his muzzle to his shoulder with sorrow in his yellow eyes before padding off where Silverpaw had left a trail of blood. Before he disappeared, he gave him a look of pity.

Now he had done it; he felt even worse than when he hid the message from Emberstar from his friends. Goldpaw was sure that the three would stick together again after that, but this may have been too much. He was going to be abandoned again this time for sure.

_I'm so sorry..._

**...**

Silverpaw collapsed by the riverbed, still crying miserably. She managed to look into the water and saw that her paws were so burned that the hairs were gone and her throat was becoming a bloody jagged wound. Feeling rather dizzy and upset from this injury, she realized she would become infected if she wasn't healed soon.

So Silverpaw laid down in the cool water, wondering if the blood would be washed away. It was like Hawkfrost, an evil RiverClan warrior, had been when he was killed by his half-brother, Brambleclaw. She closed her eyes as the water touched the wound and the blood flowed into the river; Silverpaw hoped that her mother would come into view and take her to StarClan's territory.

_But is this dying?_

For when she opened her eyes, she realized she was still lying in the cool shallow water and the pain was gone. So she got up to look in her reflection and what she was amazed her: her throat wound was completely healed as if StarClan themselves had come down and patched her up. What was more was that her paws grew their fur back, but they had become white. Not only that, but her throat had also turned white instead of silver.

"Ah... So you have found your healing abilities."

Silverpaw looked up with surprise as Hayato had padded down the bank toward her and sat down beside her in the river. "The great Bending cats of the WaterClan have this ability sometimes. All my life, I wished I had been blessed by StarClan like you, free from this burning hellish curse."

"But Hayato, you have powers I'll never know!" Silverpaw protested. She felt a little better after this cat praised her.

"Water brings healing and life," Hayato went on bitterly. "But fire brings only devastation and pain. It forces cats loaded with its igniting care to walk an eagle's talon edge between kindness and savagery. In the end, we are torn apart." Turning to her, he added, "Do you blame the Avatar Cat for what he did to you?"

For a momentary minute, Silverpaw was tempted to say "yes." If Goldpaw hadn't burned her, she wouldn't have been in so much pain. However, if it hadn't been for him burning her, she would never have found her ability to heal while growing her paw-&-neck fur back. Plus, she had failed to see the look of shock and shame in the golden tom's dark gray eyes. She knew her answer:

"No. I don't blame Goldpaw. I know he would never hurt a cat on purpose."

Hayato dipped his head to her and meowed, "I am pleased to hear you don't blame your friend. For it is my fault," he added bitterly, turning away from her and looking down into the water.

But before Silverpaw could tell him it wasn't his fault, the river in front of them was blasted with gouts of flame. Before fire got to Silverpaw, who was afraid that she would get burned again, Hayato rose quickly to a defensive bending stance on his paws and broke off the flames that washed over him and the silver apprentice like a waterfall over rocks.

"Hurry!" the ginger tom yelled to her, quickly shoving her away from the flames. "Find your friends and leave! And never return! If you don't, you three will be killed!"

Silverpaw gave a nod and raced off into the bushes. But she stopped while under a holly bush and saw cats on top of a boat sailing at Hayato. The cats on the boat launched some fireballs at him, but the ginger rogue calmly stepped to one side and cleanly avoided them.

With a jolt of horror, Silverpaw saw a dark brown cat jump off of the boat and swim right at Hayato. He was yowling to his cats, "There's no need for you to come with me for this. My mentor became a kittypet long ago and forgot fighting ever since!"

It was Thornflare, the senior FireClan warrior with the short tail who attacked her and her friends at Avatar Cat Whitestorm's temple around two moons ago. She remembered Goldpaw telling her about facing the dark brown tom while he was fetching herbs. His orange eyes were shining with malice, very unlike the bitter look in Bearclaw's eyes.

As Silverpaw peered through the wall of fire, Thornflare had arrived out of the water with his pelt dripping with water. He quickly made a path for him to get through the fire.

"Hello, Snake-eyes."

With a hiss, Hayato pounced at his former apprentice and the two toms were locked in a whirling cyclone of fur, claws, teeth, and fire. Suddenly recalling her job, Silverpaw snapped out of her trance and raced back to where Hayato made his home.

**...**

Just a few minutes later, Silverpaw made it back to Archie while Ashpaw was gathering stuff before taking off. Her brother had clearly gotten the warning from Hayato earlier about leaving. He turned to his sister with relief in his gaze and looked down at her new white paws and white throat in shock.

"Silverpaw! Are you okay?"

"Yeah! I'll be all right, but we need to leave. Where's Goldpaw?"

Ashpaw flicked his tail over toward the river while his eyes hardened with anger. Silverpaw saw what Hayato had meant by saying that she should blame him; Ashpaw must have said something harsh. Again.

"Did you blame Hayato? AND Goldpaw?" When her brother nodded with a humbled look on his face, Silverpaw spat, "It's not their fault I got burned! Actually, if I never got burned, I wouldn't have found healing abilities!" Without another word, she barged past him and went down to the river.

As she found his little shack, Silverpaw saw that Ashpaw was just trying to protect her. Once, when a rogue tried hitting on her and slapping her across the face, Ashpaw had leaped to her defense and tore that cat up. She would always be grateful for his help. _But he can be such a mouse-brain sometimes!_

Anyways, she reached the outside of the shack, wondering if Goldpaw really was there. It was clear that Hayato's shack rested on a little island in the river and was reachable by a small foot bridge.

When Silverpaw parted the curtain and padded inside, she thought Goldpaw really wasn't there. But she heard short breathing as she found the Avatar Cat sitting on Hayato's stack of boxes, with the candles surrounding him and turning his back to her. Silverpaw wondered what was wrong with her friend.

"Hayato told me I wasn't ready to FireBend," Goldpaw was muttering. "But I wouldn't listen. WHY the hell wouldn't I listen to him? And look what happened! From now on, I will never FireBend ever again."

Silverpaw leaped up beside him and replied, "But you'll have to do so later."

But Goldpaw shook his head and rasped, "I said no. I won't FireBend ever again."

"It's all right, Goldpaw. Ashpaw was just pissed because I was hurt. As for me, I don't blame you at all," Silverpaw meowed. Then she padded in front of him where he could see the healed throat scar, her new white paws, and her white throat in the candlelight. "Look. I healed myself!"

"What?"

Silverpaw meowed swiftly, "Long story. But we need to leave now. Thornflare's in the forest!"

At once, like a cat woken from its sleep, Goldpaw got up and leaped down from the pile of boxes. "Where is he?"

"He's near the other side of the river. And he's already fighting with Hayato!"

Immediately, Goldpaw raced out of the shack and left her behind, yowling over his shoulder, "I gotta go get him! I'll meet ya back at Archie!"

Watching Goldpaw race ahead to fight Thornflare made Silverpaw realize that he was becoming more powerful by the minute. She realized that when anyone who was a friend or a normal cat was in danger, he would rescue them with great power. Giving a sigh of frustration at him doing something stupidly brave, she went in his direction to search for Ashpaw and Archie.

_Goldpaw, please come back safely!_

**...**

Goldpaw had barely gotten near the river when he heard loud yowling from the riverbank. When he made it, what he saw next made him snarl with anger.

Thornflare and his warriors had surrounded Hayato, who was lying on the ground and bleeding from several wounds on his body. The FireClan deputy wasn't harmed at all, which maybe meant that he and his warriors ganged up on the old rogue and beat him up mercilessly. Hayato tried to stand up, but Thornflare shoved him down with a shoulder shove.

"Look at you, you old shit!" he was gloating; there was an evil glint in his orange eyes. "You were once a dominant warrior of FireClan, a powerful FireBender! Now you chose to embrace the life of a savage!"

"No, Thornpaw," Hayato was growling with bitterness. "You were the one who chose to embrace the life of a savage!"

Thornflare slashed him on the ear and hissed, "That's Thorn_flare, _deputy of FireClan!"

With a ray of hope, Goldpaw saw Hayato struggle to his paws. Despite being weak, he was able to stand up and retort, "But that title will not help you find and fight the Avatar Cat. Please do not fight him! He's a more powerful cat than you and I."

Goldpaw gasped. _He has that much faith in me?_

"Ha!" Thornflare sneered, taking a step forward. "I'll take on that kit all by myself." At this, flames grew around the dark brown tom as he advanced toward the Traitor, who was backing away with awe in his snake-like eyes.

"I haven't seen such power in a while!" Hayato rasped as Thornflare continued stalking hostilely toward him.

_Hayato!_

As Goldpaw leaped out from his hiding spot and ran toward the FireClan cats, Thornflare flicked his ears and muttered, "Oh, you'll see such power. Warriors! Take the Traitor hostage!"

But Goldpaw's arrival was all Hayato needed. Once Goldpaw leaped in between the FireClan deputy and the rogue FireBender, Hayato gave a smirk at the FireClan cats and a silent nod to Goldpaw. After that, he wrapped himself in a massive ball of flame, making the cats step away from him. When it dissipated, he was gone. Goldpaw was very impressed.

However, Thornflare was not. Instead, he snarled, "Don't fool yourselves! Look for him in the forest! He'll be there!" As soon as his warriors left, he turned to face Goldpaw, growling, "As for you, I could smell you a little far away. But now let's see what my mentor taught you."

Goldpaw was shocked. He had never known about the FireBender's apprentice. _Hayato was his mentor?_

Out loud, he gasped, "_You_ were his apprentice?"

"Yes, but there was a little thing I called boredom. I got bored," Thornflare replied. As soon as he finished, he launched a fireball from his tail at Goldpaw. The Avatar Cat dodged that one and another by jumping to the side.

Thornflare laughed sinisterly. "So...that traitor taught you how to dodge and sprint to the side like a coward. But you know what? I don't think he taught you what a _real_ FireBending warrior can do!"

When he finished, he launched another fireball at Goldpaw. It flew over his head as the golden-pelted Avatar Cat produced a smooth whirling whirlwind of air underneath him and balanced himself on top of it with one paw. He was panting, but he wasn't going to give up.

"Woo! Wild throw!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, really?" Thornflare retorted, running at him with claws unsheathed. "I'll show you wild!"

As more snow fell, he fired several more volleys at him, which Goldpaw either dodged or broke with his own AirBending attacks. Thornflare's blasts had torched so much of the surrounding forest that the sky filled with smoke and was thickened by ash.

Suddenly, as Goldpaw landed on his paws, he remembered what Hayato told him about his former apprentice Thornflare before he burned Silverpaw:

_When I was once a Clan cat, I had an apprentice once who was not interest in learning discipline. He was only interested in the power of fire...how he could use it to crush his enemies and wipe out everything in his path._

And then: _Learn discipline, or risk destroying yourself and everything you love._

_So Thornflare lacked self-discipline! _Goldpaw realized. _That's why he caused these forest fires!_

With a creeping idea (this time GOOD idea) creeping into his brain, Goldpaw gave Thornflare a look before looking over at his boats. If he could destroy them somehow, it would delay the dark brown tomcat.

Thornflare was snarling, "So, Avatar Cat? Are you going to turn and fight or run and die?"

Pulling up a cocky smile, Goldpaw retorted, "Oh, are we fighting? I thought you were training for the ballet!"

"No, I'm not!" Thornflare growled, the sneer on his face turning into a snarl.

At that last word, Thornflare let balls of fire escape from his jaws and fly at Goldpaw. Prepared for this, he dodged every single one of them pretty well. If he could get very far, infuriating the FireClan cat could start working well.

"Is that all you got?" Goldpaw taunted, rushing in and out to taunt Thornflare. "Wow! I bet being a deputy takes just that to be one!"

Thornflare reared up onto his hind legs and launched another wayward Fire Blast with a frightful snarl of frustration. Goldpaw, laughing to himself, AirBended himself up onto one of the ships and turned around so that his hind side was facing him. Then he crouched low and began to start wiggling his rear cheekily at Thornflare while turning around to watch his reaction.

He called mockingly, "'Greetings! I'm Thornflare! I have a stumpy tail! And I have an ass even bigger than my brain!'"

Now Thornflare looked so angry that he looked as scary as his mentor, but Goldpaw's plan was working. With another terrible roar, he leaped up onto the main deck and launched a blast of fire at him. It set the bridge on fire, but Goldpaw leaped off unharmed to the adjacent section. He jumped onto the section of the next ship.

When Goldpaw got to the other side, he shook his head in mock discontent. "I hate to say this, but I think Bearclaw fights better than you."

Unfortunately, a next Fire Blast came straight at him, but he managed to duck just in time to avoid getting burnt. Goldpaw felt a sharp pain on his foreleg, but that didn't matter to him right now. What mattered now was to drive Thornflare away from his pack.

He could see Thornflare standing on the deck of the first ship while glaring at him. The dark brown deputy had just blasted a hole right through the guard rail of both ships with the wall of fire Goldpaw just avoided. He leaped at Goldpaw and tried to bite him, but Goldpaw dodged every biting attack sent at him.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Goldpaw muttered, standing up to his paws and shaking his head with mock disappointment again. "So sloppy. Even a crab could FireBend better than you."

Roaring with frustration and rage, Thornflare followed him around the boats, spreading fire to each of them in his vain effort to get the Avatar Cat. Briefly out of Thornflare's sights, Goldpaw hid himself behind one of the deck cabins.

Suddenly, pawsteps made him turn around to see Thornflare leap right behind him. The FireClan deputy was already jumping down from the top of the deck cabin. Goldpaw backed away from him, wondering if his plan failed.

"Now you got nowhere to run, you little smartass!" Thornflare hissed.

He ran forward and leaped into the air, ready to bring his fangs down onto his throat. Once again, Goldpaw dodged to one side and started sidestepping the biting attacks. He dodged a final biting attack by flipping over Thornflare's broad head to land behind him. The bridge of the third and last ship was now on fire.

"Actually, YOU'RE the one who lost," Goldpaw retorted, flicking his tail at the three ships; the first ship had already sunk beneath the water. "Looks like Hayato-or 'Snake-eyes'-was right. You DO lack discipline."

Thornflare watched Goldpaw's tail flick and he turned around with shock on his grimacing face. With a deep growl in his throat, the FireClan tomcat threw back his head and let out a screech of rage and frustration as his second boat began to sink. Flames were lighting up his middle-aged face as he kept yowling with rage.

Laughing at him, Goldpaw leaped off of the prow to the second boat. He jumped into the water and paddled all the way back to shore; when he got there, he turned around to see Thornflare still screeching from far away.

"Have a nice ride home!"

"Goldpaw, let's go!"

Ashpaw had arrived and grabbed Goldpaw by the scruff, pulling him away from this scene. There was now urgency in his eyes as he pulled him away.

Goldpaw gazed up at him with confusion. Wasn't he mad at him? "What about-"

Ashpaw dropped him off at Archie's feet, which were standing right near the river bank. "Look, I'm sorry for earlier, okay? I just wanted to protect my sister. Now let's go!"

Goldpaw nodded to his friend, grabbed him by the scruff, and leaped on board next to Silverpaw. When Goldpaw dropped him, he leaped onto Archie's head and gave a sharp "Yip yip!" At that, Archie lifted himself into the air and flew off, leaving the boats still burning in the water.

But Goldpaw remembered something: "Hey, where's Hayato?"

"I don't know," Ashpaw sighed. "Guess I went too hard on him. And his band of rogues is gone too."

But as they heard Thornflare continuing to yowl in rage, they could hear another voice yowl in an annoyed tone, "All right, who's the wise guy who got everyone to leave? Where'd everyone go? That's SO funny, guys! I think YOU GUYS are the dumbasses!"

They could see Daisuke down below wandering around alone in his camp. They were almost tempted to go back for him, but they had to escape and never return to the forest. They had to leave in case Thornflare decided to come back and hunt down Goldpaw and Hayato...wherever the brave heroic Traitor went off to.

Hayato would be remembered for moons for what he had done. Not only did he survive in escaping FireClan, but he made sure Goldpaw and his friends escaped. They hoped he would meet up with them again.

**...**

"Goldpaw, your front leg's burned."

Goldpaw saw Silverpaw give him a look of concern and looked down. She was right; some of the fur on his front leg was burned, but not enough to burn all the fur off. He must have been fighting Thornflare so much he didn't feel the pain from when he ducked.

Before Goldpaw could tell her it was all right, Silverpaw bent low to him, murmured "Let me help you," and gathered some water from her water pouch from around her neck.

Her new white paw was glowing pure white just like his arrow stripes would, but she laid it very carefully onto Goldpaw's leg. Silverpaw closed her eyes, sighed, and pulled back, leaving the leg just as golden as ever.

"Great StarClan! Good water! So that's how you healed yourself!"

Ashpaw looked at her in shock. "That's how your paws and throat turned white? How'd you learn to do that?"

Silverpaw shrugged. "I guess this ability came out of me after so long."

"Oh..." Ashpaw stammered. Then... "...well, how the hell did you continue to give me plain old medicine all these moons but you couldn't bring out your healing powers yet?" he started to rant. "There was that time when I scraped my hind leg on that sharp shard of ice! And then there was the time I got stung by TWO jellyfish!"

Goldpaw gaped at him, amazed. "You got stung by TWO jellyfish?"

"He tried to get rid of a jellyfish sting with another jellyfish sting," Silverpaw explained to him. "And he tried to do it without Sleetpelt's permission."

As Archie flew onwards to the sunset while it snowed, Ashpaw whined, "And let's not forget the time when that elephant seal squashed me down hard! Thanks for healing _that_ up!"

Goldpaw and Silverpaw purred together.

_To be continued..._

**...**

**AvatarCat12: I don't hear any arguing.**

**Kyuubi: Maybe they did leave after all. What'll you do then?**

**AvatarCat12: (His face falls) That's a shame. We've been friends since 2010. ...but the series must go on!**

**Fanfic meister: And we'll help you along the way. We're all friends, right?**

**AvatarCat12: (Smiles at him) Yeah. So who wants to say the preview for The Northern AirClan Camp and review thing?**

**Kyuubi: I'll say the preview.**

**Fanfic meister: And I'll say the review thing.**

**Preview: Goldpaw and his friends go to a temple, where living AirClan cats are said to roam. But little do they realize that there is a dark secret buried among the ruins.**

**Anyone who reviews...we'll thank you who do. Constructive criticism is allowed as long as it's not harsh. And flames will be used to heat up fudge.**

**AvatarCat12, fanfic meister, and Kyuubi: See ya next time!**


	19. The Northern AirClan Camp

**AvatarCat12: Once again, Katara and Holly aren't here. I don't think they'll come back anymore. So we should just- (A knock answers him, so he opens the door to find Katara and Holly standing there)**

**AvatarCat12: (Stumbles back) Katara? Holly? What're you two doing back here?**

**Katara: After we left, we felt back for arguing. And Sokka and I wanted to tell Dad of what happened.**

**Holly: I went with them to tell Chief Hakoda. He was disappointed in them at first, but he was proud of how they went back to journeying with Aang.**

**Katara: (As she and Holly hug him) And we're back in business together!**

**AvatarCat12: Awesome! Freakin' sweet! Glad to have you back!**

**Holly: It is. Katara wants to say the disclaimer while I want to say the summary.**

**WinxPossible: But AvatarCat12 said that the first person who reviewed the last chapter will say the disclaimer.**

**Katara: She's right.**

**Disclaimer: He owns none.**

**Summary: ****Goldpaw and his friends go to a temple, where living AirClan cats are said to roam. But little do they realize that there is a dark secret buried among the ruins.**

**Updating Date: January 11, 2012**

**Everyone: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Northern AirClan Camp_

"So, my fellow travelers, the next time you hear a strange large bird talking to you, take a closer look! For it might not be a giant parrot or even an enormous Archaeopteryx, but a flying _cat_! A member of a secret tribe of air-running felines who laugh at gravity and laugh at the cats bound to Earth by it!"

Goldpaw, Silverpaw, and Ashpaw had joined up with a pack of traveling cats in an abandoned Twoleg nest. It was snowing very hard outside, so hard that it had turned into a blizzard. Inside, the three Clan cats were sitting on top of some rocks and some kits were sitting on the ground in front of the rocks. They were all listening to a brown cat sitting in front of the fire that burned in the center of the gathering.

Goldpaw was very eager to listen to AirClan legends. Sure, some of them weren't entirely true, but they were still so exciting. They reminded him of the stories his parents used to tell him before he was taken away for training.

"Aren't AirClan stories great?" he asked his fellow apprentices.

Silverpaw just tilted her head to one side while scooping some dirt around with her white paws. "Are you sure it's real? Did AirClan cats behave like that back then?"

Goldpaw just purred, "Come on, Silverpaw. _I_ laugh in the face of gravity!" To the air, he scoffed, "Take that, gravity! Hahaha!"

When the cats were busy telling each other about the AirClan cats, the brown loner had gotten up from his spot and started weaving around the other cats, asking for money with his bowl. He stopped in front of Ashpaw, who was distracted by the snow outside the Twoleg nest, who had come up to him.

The dark gray tabby apprentice looked into his blue bag, but when he dumped the contents out, there were only a few shrew bones and a spider. The arachnid wriggled its legs a few times and then laid down dead on the ground.

Ashpaw gave him an apologetic look, but the loner stalked away from him, muttering loudly, "Damn cheapskates!"

Wanting to give him the best opinion of these stories, Goldpaw padded over to the brown cat, who was asking for a tip from a few other cats. "Sir, I wanna say thanks for that great story!"

"Eh, talk to the bowl, kid," was all the cat replied, not looking at him.

While this happened, a copper coin fell onto the ground, then Tobias picked it up in his talon and deposited it into the bowl. The storyteller patted the red-tailed hawk on the head with a happy look on his face.

"Ah, thank you very much, small hawk!" he purred to Tobias.

"Sir," Goldpaw began, padding forward and sitting down in front of him. "It means a lot to me to hear your AirClan stories. It must've been over fourteen years since your great-grandfather last met them."

The loner gave him an odd look and replied, "What the hell are you mewing about? My great-granddaddy saw them just around a few days ago!" He pointed his tail to a rotting green skeleton lying on the ground and did some kind of mimicry to make it talk.

Despite being grossed out by the skeleton, Goldpaw felt excited inside. His Clan actually DID survive. He remembered the disastrous visit to the Southern AirClan camp where he discovered that he was the last AirClan cat. But now, when they set out and leave in the morning to the Northern AirClan camp, he would finally get to see his Clan once again.

**...**

The next dawn, the three cats lifted off on Archie, and the dragon was soaring through the sky. The blizzard from the night before had stopped and the land was now white with snow. Archie flew off while travelling through very puffy white clouds, snow-capped mountains in the distance.

Goldpaw scented a familiar yet distance scent: the scent of AirClan. And he found it.

"Guys, we're almost to the Northern AirClan camp! There, AirClan cats hold tournaments for Asian Lung Dragon basketball!"

"Are you sure that we'll be able to find some AirClan cats? I hope to see one soon," Silverpaw piped up, sitting next to Ashpaw.

"So I believe you're telling me to be like you or be honest," Ashpaw meowed. He was carving out some kind of shape from a piece of wood with his claws.

Silverpaw gave him a hard look as her tail twitched. "You calling me a liar?"

Ashpaw shook his head quickly. "No, I'm calling you optimistic. It's the same thing."

"You were thinking it," Silverpaw sighed, rolling her eyes at him.

"Guys! Look!"

Goldpaw, while smiling, was pointing his tail to a large temple sitting on top of a steep mountain similar to its brother temple down in the south near the Southern WaterClan land. Unlike that territory, however, there were either cats or possibly large flying lizards flying around this one. Smoke rose in lazy pillars from a couple places among the spires. Around the temple flew many gliders.

But as he studied them some more, his hope faded away to disappointment. He let his shoulders droop with dissatisfaction and his smile faded. He saw that these cats weren't AirBenders at all; he couldn't feel any energetic spirituality radiating from them. That feeling made him ruffle his whiskers a little.

Silverpaw sat up and remarked, "Huh! So there ARE AirBenders here after all!"

"No they aren't," Goldpaw mumbled, twitching his tail unhappily.

"What the hell are you meowing about?" Ashpaw piped up as he padded up to him and sat down beside him. He pointed his tail to the temple and went on, "What makes you say they're not? Those cats are flying, aren't they? They're in the air, right?"

Goldpaw turned around to look back at the temple, where the cats were making loops in the air. "Yeah, they're gliding. But they're not truly flying. No true AirClan cat flies without AirBending. By the way they move, they're not AirBending. They have no sense of spirituality."

"I don't know," Silverpaw mumbled as she watched a glider fly past them. "That glider looks spirited!"

As soon as she finished, the glider came back again and swooped over their head. The three cats shook their heads, their whiskers ruffling in the very strong gale and their fur bristling with the chilliness of the wind. When they got back to seeing where they were going, they could see what was going on.

A young gray tom wearing amber goggles and seated in a glider built out of a wheelchair gave a purr of amusement and wheeled his craft around for yet another pass at Archie. The other two cats looked up at him with awe, watching as he glided around them.

When the wheelchair glider made another pass, Goldpaw gave him a stern look and felt a little competitive. He leapt into the air, unfolded his glider on his back, and took off. The other gliders now flew in a goose-like formation around Archie. Silverpaw fell backward and crashed into Ashpaw.

"Let's get to the ground before something else hits us!" the dark gray tabby tom meowed with a bit of anxiety in his meow.

Archie agreed with a roar and flew down towards the temple.

Meanwhile, the gray glider tom soared upward while Goldpaw followed him with an unhappy look on his face. Normally, AirBending would be fun to do, but these cats' gliding skills seemed to ruin the mood. The way these cats were gliding around, this would be enough to make a true AirBender ashamed.

_This is pissing me off, _he thought to himself grumpily. The golden tom soared upward as well and came up just behind his target.

"Go, Gray-limp!" Goldpaw looked down to see several cats gathering outside and looking up at this game of "tag." "Show that cat who's boss!"

Back in the sky, Goldpaw continued the aerial pursuit. Gray-limp hit his brakes, looped around backwards and ended up behind the Avatar Cat. They twirled around each other in a controlled dive. In a few moments later, the two glider cats were neck and neck with each other.

"Yo! You're awesome at this!" Gray-limp called out to him.

"Thanks," Goldpaw called back brusquely. "But I can do so much better than gliding!"

To show him, Goldpaw slowed his descent, turned around, and shot straight upward. He came back to the one of the Clan's temple towers, let go of his glider, and started dashing along the side of the tower. Then he produced some Air Paws, jumped into them, and rode them along the outside wall of the tower, his glider still running alongside him. He let the Air Paws die, pounced back onto his glider, and soared back into the sky. He turned to see if Gray-limp was astonished, but the gray tom looked impressed.

"Whoa! I didn't know a cat could do that! But check this one out!"

He released a cord on his glider and a cylinder on the back of his glider began to leave a trail of thick gray smoke. Gray-limp manipulated his glider through loops and arcs, leaving the gray trail behind him. When this was finished, Gray-limp made a picture of Goldpaw's face, arrow and all, with a sour look on his face.

The crowd let out purrs of laughter but Goldpaw wasn't amused, however. He just let out a huff of anger.

"What do you think?"

"It's nice," Goldpaw replied sarcastically.

He landed next to Silverpaw and Ashpaw, folding his glider. Gray-limp landed his glider right behind, skidding only a bit before he applied his paw break and came to a stop. A bunch of small kits raced forward and detached the glider from his wheelchair. He then wheeled himself over to Goldpaw and his companions.

When he got near, Goldpaw's crankiness melted and was replaced with sympathy. Gray-limp didn't make this chair just for fun; both his hind legs were gone. This reminded him of Briarlight, a ThunderClan she-cat warrior whose backbone was broken.

Gray-limp had a look of amazement on his face as he exclaimed happily, "Wait a minute! You're a real AirBender! So you're the Avatar Cat?" When Goldpaw nodded, Gray-limp cheered, "That is so cool! I-I-I've heard much about you from travelling cats!"

Goldpaw's sympathy combined with happiness and embarrassment as he shuffled his paws. "Thanks!"

"Holy shit!" Ashpaw exclaimed, gazing at the wheelchair. "That glider chair is amazing!" As if he gave a command, two kits brought the glider back to him to inspect.

"But if you think that's good, think again!" Gray-limp purred. "Just wait till you see all the stuff my dad invents!" He began to wheel away and the Clan apprentices followed him.

**...**

Soon after eating, the three Clan apprentices followed their new friend through the huge main gate of the temple. When they reached the main chamber, it was moderately different than that seen in the southern AirClan camp.

This room was dominated by an untidy heap of steam-powered machinery with many wheels, gears and pipes. It was not a pretty sight. A spectacular statue of an AirBender traveler (who looked somewhat like Goldenstripe) was seen in a buried porch in the wall, but it also looked unclean and befouled as did the rest of the room. Shafts of sunlight did sift in, but the steam and dust made it look shadowy.

Goldpaw gazed around him in shock...and not "in a good way". It was rather in a depressing way. He couldn't believe that cats from other Clans just came over and took away the part that made the temple the way it was. He gave a sigh while he watched Ashpaw look around in amazement...and this time, in his eyes, "in a good way."

"My dad's the cat who started restoring this entire place!" Gray-limp purred with pride in his voice. "Everything here is powered by hot air. It even pumps lots of hot air currents outside to give us a lift when we're out gliding."

While he was speaking, a brown she-cat padded over to a cage behind them, which she got into. She pulled down a rope with her jaws and steam power lifted the cage up to a higher level where she left the room.

"This is unbelievable," Goldpaw murmured sadly.

Gray-limp, not seeing the sad look on his face, asked him, "It's great, eh?"

Goldpaw shook his head and repeated, "No. Just...unbelievable." He padded away from the group and sat down. He wanted to avoid looking at all of the garbage that came to this sacred temple.

"It'll be okay," Silverpaw told the confused gray tom. "Goldpaw always used to come here to this temple fourteen years ago. I believe this is why he's so surprised. It's...well... so...different."

"And it's much better!" Ashpaw yowled happily.

Goldpaw turned his head around to give Ashpaw a very venomous glare. However, Silverpaw didn't look as fierce as her friend did while she glared at her littermate. Ashpaw just shrugged under their glares and padded off, not looking back. Goldpaw padded off into the different direction, with Silverpaw following him.

When he stalked into the different room, Goldpaw looked up at a wall painting. It was for sure once breathtakingly beautiful. But now, it was rough and filthy. The worst thing was that many of the figures and shapes in the wall painting were destroyed since many pipes now entered and left the wall here.

"What happened?" the golden AirClan cat grieved. He couldn't believe this was happening right now. "This is supposed to be the marking of my Clan's history."

Silverpaw came up from behind and licked him on the ear, but Goldpaw stalked away from her to a huge statue that once had a fountain attached to it. Now the fountain basin was full of green industrial-looking litter that bubbled and squirted.

The statue then emitted a cloud of black smoke from its mouth, scaring Goldpaw and making him spit with disgust. Silverpaw came up from behind him and licked him on the ear again.

She murmured kindly, "Hey, Goldpaw. There could still be some parts of the temple that haven't changed."

"Yeah. Maybe," he mumbled back.

**...**

Sometime later, the three Clan apprentices and Gray-limp were padding across a thin suspended pathway from the main temple to a settlement temple building. When they went inside, they found themselves in the main courtyard, which looked untouched. AirBender cat statues still existed in there.

Goldpaw sighed with relief as he looked up at a clean statue. "At least one part of the temple's not ruined."

"Watch out!"

Goldpaw and his friends just barely heard the noise when the statue fell to pieces as a wrecking ball smashed through it. Goldpaw and Silverpaw fell backward with flying debris and dust while everyone began coughing.

As the dust settled, many figures of cats were seen through the hole the wrecking ball just created. One of them padded forward, a middle-aged cream-colored tom with a singed muzzle, a stumpy tail, and weird patches of pointy fur on the tips of his ears. His left eye was amber while right eye had a blue monocle. He wore a green bandana mostly covered by some dust.

"What the doodle is this, young live wires?" the tomcat asked them as he coughed. "Haven't you hoodlums learned to keep away from the construction sites? We need to make some more room for a bathhouse! It's going to be the cat's meow!"

Rage filled Goldpaw to the tip of his ears. He couldn't believe that these cats were destroying this temple just to make it filthier. He stalked forward, got into a hostile stance, and snarled, "Did you just see what the hell you did, pigeon-brain? You just destroyed a sacred part of this temple! And for what? A stupid bathhouse!"

The cream-colored tom waved his paw in front of him. "Come now, young one! What's there to beef about? Except that the cats around here are starting to stink like skunks!"

"_This whole place stinks!_" Goldpaw roared ferociously.

He turned around and kicked at the air with his hind legs, sending a gale back through the hole in the wall. The wrecking ball and its entire rig were blown off the building's rock base and fell into the crevices below. Goldpaw ignored the shocked looks everyone was giving him, glaring down at the machine he just overthrew.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

When the smoke cleared, Goldpaw took a threatening toward the cream-colored cat. How dare this cat try to alter his temple like spaying sheep! This group of cats was destroying it!

"Sir, this is a very sacred temple to the cats of AirClan!" he snarled. "You can't go around and treat it like this! I've seen the way it was before AirClan died out and I know what it SHOULD look like!"

The cream-colored tom gaped at him with amazement. "The AirClan warriors? But my dear boy! You're only nearly a year old!"

Suddenly, Gray-limp wheeled himself forward and hurriedly placed himself between the two tomcats. "Dad, this is the Avatar Cat! He always used to come here fourteen years ago. This is my dad, but you can call him The Scientist," he added to the apprentices.

Goldpaw didn't care about the introductions; with one threatening step toward the Scientist, he growled, "So what are you cats doing here? And what gave you the right to make your damn camp here?"

"Hmmm...doing here..." the Scientist repeated, turning away. "Moons ago (but not fourteen years ago, mind you!), my fellow villagers became exiles after an awful flood swept through it." He gestured with his paw to show the size of the flood, and then stood next to his son's wheelchair. "My infant son, Gray, lost both his hind legs and his mother." He began sniffling to hold back tears.

Then he continued more cheerfully, "So we needed to find another place to live, and I stumbled across this place. Couldn't believe it! Everywhere pictures of flying cats. But empty! Nobody was home! Then I came across those fan-like devices! Those things were the bee's knees!"

At that, he put his front paws out, extended his fore legs as if they were wings, and made flying motions across the courtyard for emphasis. He stopped right in front of Goldpaw, who still felt angry.

"Those are our gliders," he growled.

"Oh yes, little light flying machines," the Scientist meowed. "Those copacetic machines gave me an idea. It was to build a new life for my son while in the air! Then every cat would be on equal ground, so to speak! We're just improving upon what's already here, that's all! After all, isn't that what nature does?"

Behind Goldpaw, Silverpaw and Ashpaw looked teary-eyed at the Scientist's story, but Goldpaw wasn't entirely sympathetic. _I can't believe those two..._

He replied, "I quite disagree, sir. StarClan will help nature decided when to stop."

The cream-colored tomcat tilted his head, but he just looked around at the hole the Avatar Cat created just a minute ago. He just meowed, "Um...yes. On the bad side, progress can get away from our paws." But he didn't look sad anymore, for he looked over his shoulder and meowed, "Oh! Would you look at the time?"

The three Clan cats turned to see three candles burning brilliantly on a sandstone pedestal. Each of the three candles was separated neatly into different sections. Next to the pedestal, a large mallet rested with its head down. Goldpaw could see Ashpaw's pale blue eyes glow with some mild interest.

The Scientist turned to speak to a scribe behind him, "Let's go! That pulley must be oiled before nightfall!"

"Hold on," Ashpaw interrupted, coming up to inspect the candles. "Those notches look all the same. How could a cat tell time from them?"

"Watch," was all the Scientist replied.

As soon as he finished speaking, the candle flame snapped five times in a row.

Ashpaw leaped back with surprise. "Did you put spark powder in there with a mixture of electric eel?"

The Scientist nodded with appreciation and purred happily, "Of course! There are five spark flashes in total, so it's now five hours since sunhigh. I for one like to call it 'five o'candle!'"

Ashpaw purred with pleasure and the Scientist purred back. Goldpaw guessed that the loner was happy to a stranger interested in his work for once.

"Well...if you like that," the Scientist went on, "just you wait until I show you my claw-safe claw-sharpener stone!" He held up his left front paw and three of the toes on his paws, even the one separated from the other ones, were made of wood; they were probably cut off.

He disconnected them from his paw and tossed them to Ashpaw, adding, "It took me three tries to get it right and...well, you can see the results."

"Rowr!" Ashpaw yowled as he dropped them and leaped back. "What the hell?"

"Follow me!" The Scientist ran off out of the building with the dark gray apprentice recovering and following him. This left Goldpaw, Silverpaw, and Gray-limp alone.

The gray tom turned to Goldpaw after staring after his father and meowed to him, "I wanna show you something, Goldpaw. You'll like it, I'm sure you will."

**...**

As the three cats padded and wheeled down the bowels of the temple, Goldpaw stared around him gloomily. There seemed to be nothing that now reminded him of the great Clan he was born into and it may fade away forever.

He heard tales about some Twolegs destroying woods and such while other Twolegs tried to protect them. He had no idea why the Twolegs were extinct. But he heard tales of Twolegs glowing with either shiny light or fire; other than that, nothing else.

"I can't stand it," he muttered sadly. "Nothing's the same anymore."

"Well, I don't know about that," Gray-limp replied, holding something in his jaws. He had stopped to gently pick up a tiger-striped tarantula. "Even if the temple isn't the same as it was, the animals around here might be descended from those living here fourteen years ago."

He gave it to Silverpaw, who giggled when it crawled around safely over her face. She agreed, "You're right, Gray-limp. They're maybe the guardians of the origin of this temple!" She padded over to Goldpaw and pressed her nose to his, letting the hairy spider crawl over to his face.

Goldpaw purred, feeling a little better when the tarantula fell down from his face and scuttled off to a crack in the wall. Both cats were right. The temple wasn't the same as it was moons ago, but there would always be the native animals living here.

He also felt guilty about being gloomy all the time they were here. _I've been such a gloomy dumbass._

Gray-limp must have seen the look on his face, for he added, "Plus, there's one part in the temple that hadn't changed for seasons."

**...**

After Goldpaw and Silverpaw followed Gray-limp down a long corridor of the Temple, with huge AirClan swirls built into mosaics in the floor, they all stood in front of a door. It was huge, made of wood, and it was ruled in the center by a woodcut involving three wooden Air symbols protruding from its surface and which were arranged in a triangular pattern. The symbols were attached to tubes that ended in two horns near the bottom of the woodcut.

Goldpaw wanted to leap into the air and pranced around for joy, but he kept his paws to the ground. This was one last piece of territory of the northern AirClan temple that he had to very desperately protect.

"StarClan's kits! That looks like the door in the southern AirClan camp!" Silverpaw gasped with surprise in her mew.

"Yep!" Gray-limp wheeled himself over to stand beside Goldpaw and Silverpaw. "And only a true AirBender can open this, so the AirClan warriors left it where it was before: untouched on the inside. You know, I've always wondered what it's like inside."

Goldpaw didn't feel angry at all at Gray-limp about what happened to this once-beautiful temple; he didn't help in destroying much of it. The disabled gray tomcat had been friendly with the Clan cats and was quite accepting of AirClan rules. But he couldn't let his new friend see this; he had to protect it at all cost.

When Silverpaw nudged him forward cheerfully, Goldpaw leaped back and dipped his head to them. Then he meowed to Gray-limp in an apologetic tone, "This is the last part of the temple that has always been the same. I'm sorry, Gray-limp, but I don't want to open this. I want to keep it like this."

He almost expected Gray-limp to protest, but there was calmness and a very understanding look in his amber eyes. The disabled loner meowed calmly, "It's okay, Goldpaw. I understand. I just wanted to let you know it's still here today, that's all."

"Thank you."

Goldpaw was entirely grateful for Gray-limp. He hated to guess what Ashpaw and the Scientist would so if they discovered this room. Kinking his tail to them, he turned around and started to pad back down the hall the way they had come. With a nod, Silverpaw and Gray-limp followed him down the hall.

**...**

Ashpaw sneezed a few times through his nose as he and the Scientist padded down a dark, narrow limestone staircase. They held lanterns in their jaws that shined a bright blue, but they didn't put out much light.

"Shit, these lanterns are so weak that bats can light the way better!" Ashpaw grumbled. "So what do you use for the light?" So he stopped and opened his lantern; a firefly had flown out from the small group of fireflies in there.

Suddenly, the Scientist hissed, "Close that thing up, hoodlum! If you let them out, you'll let them all escape. Fireflies are a very non-flammable source of light." So Ashpaw did what he was told and the closed the lid; the fireflies then stopped trying to escape.

They continued padding down the staircase, coming to a door whose edges were blocked with some kind of caulk. The Scientist felt his claws around the caulk-like insulation and sniffed the door, looking for leaks. He gave a satisfied snort and turned around to speak with the dark gray tabby tom.

"Hold your breath and keep one paw over your nose."

Ashpaw did just that and the Scientist reared onto his hind legs to open a small peephole in the door. He kinked his stumpy tail at Ashpaw to join him and both cats looked into the room. It was very dark and it looked like it was empty.

"Um...why'd you bring me to a dark empty room?" Ashpaw asked him doubtfully.

The Scientist purred and replied, "That's where you're wrong, my young fellow! It's filled to the edge with natural gas. Came across it during my first moon here. Alas, I was carrying a torch in my jaws at the time. Nearly blew myself and the whole place even more sky high. And my poor tail was never the same. Anyway, there's a crucial problem that needs to be solved. From time to time, we do have some gas leaks, and they're nearly impossible to find."

Ashpaw decided to inspect his side of the door in case there were leaks. Some kind of dread filled him from the tip of his ears to the tip of his claws. "So what you're trying to say is that this temple's an explosion just waiting to happen?"

"Of course!" the Scientist cried frantically, his fur ruffling with desperation. "I can't touch, see, smell, or hear anything in this room until I figure out how to locate that smelly thing."

**...**

After a bit more time of exploring, Goldpaw had decided to take some time to fly. So Gray-Limp took him and Silverpaw over to the outer cliff ledges of the northern AirClan camp. Silverpaw had finally decided to try and fly for the first time in the sky and Goldpaw faintly remembered impressing her with his flying skills when they met in the southern WaterClan camp.

"The wind will carry you," Gray-limp told the Clan cats. "It will support a special something inside you...something even lighter than air, and that something will take over as soon as you begin flying."

Silverpaw was now standing right at the edge of the terrace, holding a glider with both front paws as it was attached to her back. Gray-limp was at her left sight while Goldpaw was right behind her to the right with Tobias at his side. The red-tailed hawk was flapping his wings, his bright green eyes excited.

The silver she-cat leaned the glider on its side, looked over the cliff in dread, and squeaked, "Guys, I don't wanna learn to fly anymore. I'll be okay without that special something in me."

Gray-limp just laughed happily and purred, "Come on! That's impossible! Every cat has it in them sometimes!"

"Yep! It's spirit!" Goldpaw added.

"Huh?"

Goldpaw told Gray-limp since he knew the answer, "You know...that's the special something that lives in every cat."

The gray disabled tom shuffled his forepaws on the ground and meowed back cheerfully, "Yes, I suppose you're right." Turning to Silverpaw, who was still crouched over the cliff with her claws sinking into the earth, he asked her slyly, "So are you ready now?"

"No!"

But Silverpaw jumped off anyways, and she still screeched on her way down, Gray-limp right behind her. Her screams turned from those of fear to those of delight, however, and she gained control of the craft and began flying happily while the other cats were right behind her. The three cats gave each other excited grins as they soared around the baby-blue sky.

"Wow! I can't believe it! I'm flying!" Silverpaw howled cheerfully.

Goldpaw flew right beside her and added teasingly, "Just keep your mouth closed often. You don't want any bugs flying in there, do ya?" He kinked his tail to Tobias, who was opening his beak and taking in any bug he could get to. The red-tailed hawk's tail feathers were quivering with excitement.

Silverpaw called over to the Avatar Cat, "Goldpaw! Gray-limp was right all along! All I needed to do is trust my spirit and let it carry me! WHOO-HOO!"

_Gray-limp may not be an AirClan cat, and he might not AirBend, but he's got my Clan's spirit! _Goldpaw thought happily. He and Gray-limp purred together as Silverpaw went on with yowling for joy.

Goldpaw watched as their new friend flew inwards to the projection of the cliff. The gray tomcat landed pretty hard on the ground, but he managed to get back up without any injuries. Goldpaw glided after him, landed, and folded up his glider.

Suddenly, he felt so spirited by this cat's courageous spirit that he decided to help him in return. Plus, he felt sorry for this cat having only two working legs. "Hey," he told Gray-limp, "I've been thinking about something. Do you wanna see what's inside that room?"

When his friend nodded, he went on, "I'll open it up for you if you want."

"Thank you!" the loner purred as he dipped his head to the golden Avatar Cat. As Goldpaw nodded back, they could hear that Silverpaw was still gliding; she wasn't yowling for joy any longer, but she sure was calling for help.

"_Hold on! How the hell can I get down? How do I land this thing? What if a mammoth-Ack!_" She apparently didn't listen to her friend's advice at not keeping her mouth closed often. She just swallowed a bug. "Blah! Ack! Bug! Yep, that was a bug! Blah!"

Goldpaw and Gray-limp purred.

**...**

Meanwhile, back at the Scientist's work station, Ashpaw had begun to explore this little area. He wasn't only training to be a warrior, which was almost time already, but he also loved the field of science. Emberstar, his leader and father, also loved science, and he probably passed it on to his fully-grown son.

While the Scientist bent low on his desk and wrote stuff on a paper with his hurt paw, Ashpaw continued to explore. But he accidentally knocked some junk onto the ground by accident.

"Young hoodlum, I thought I told you not touch anything!" the Scientist barked sharply, his fur bristling. But Ashpaw already lost control of the stuff he was trying to stop from hitting the ground, and the junk fell all over the floor.

The cream tom meowed gently, "Oh, don't worry about that. This experiment's old, and that ostrich egg was just part of lunch a quarter-moon ago. I call it a man-egg!"

A rotten scent filled Ashpaw's nostrils so much he thought he felt his eyes water from the awful smell. "Eww! Quarter-moon ostrich egg! Smells like someone didn't clean their damn stuff!"

Those comments made the Scientist leap down from his desk and sniff all around the scientific place. "Hurry! Find that man-egg!" he commanded.

Both cats began their search for the ostrich egg. Ashpaw thought of this cat as weird, but he was amused all the same.

**...**

True to his word, Goldpaw already decided to show Gray-limp what was inside the room. But before they could, they had to get Silverpaw some vanilla ice cream to wash down the bug that she swallowed. Now the three cats were sitting right in front of that very room.

"Blessed StarClan! I finally get to see what's inside!" the gray tom purred with hope. His amber eyes were glowing and his pelt quivered with joy.

Goldpaw purred not only with this cat's hope, but also at the hope at finding the room the way it used to be. Hopefully it was still that way. _Please, StarClan, let it be like that!_

Anyways, he AirBended two jets of air, one from each front paw, into the horns at the bottom of the woodcut. The air ran right through the tubes and one by one flipped the air symbols from the blue sides, which had been showing, to the wine-red sides which had been facing the center of the temple. As each turned around, it flipped another machine on the outside of a door, clearly all three of the symbols had to trigger each of their machines in order to unlock the sacred Temple door.

**...**

Meanwhile, back at the Scientist's workplace, Ashpaw and the Scientist continued their search for the missing rotten ostrich egg. But so far, there was no luck yet.

"Ugh!" Ashpaw groaned, lifting his muzzle from the floor to talk to the cream-colored loner. "How could something so big and easy to find make such a horrible odor?"

Just then, the tips of the Scientist's ears gave a twitch of shock. Ashpaw guessed he was getting an idea like he himself. Indeed, it was like when he would scratch his ear...even if a flea or a tick wasn't attached to it.

"That's it! That's the conclusion of this hypothesis!"

Ashpaw nodded, and they both crawled around to face each other. The two toms forgot to stand up on their paws in their excitement.

"If we put a whole mess of rotten ostrich eggs in the underground storage room where the gas seeps up..."

"...then the gas will blend with the smell of putrid eggs..."

"...then, if there's a leak..."

"You just smell rotten eggs! Then you just let your nose guide you to the place where the smell comes from..."

"...and block the hole where the gas is escaping!"

"_You're a mad genius!" _the two toms exclaimed happily to one another as they rose to their paws at last.

_This is a friendship I will never forget!_

Suddenly, a bell from somewhere began ringing and the Scientist looked up toward its direction. "There's some trouble afoot! I have to go!"

He shook the dust from his fur and dashed off of the room with Ashpaw following him. He hoped he could help his new friend in any way that he could.

_I love science!_

**...**

The doors finally opened and Goldpaw padded inside. But what he and his friends saw next was something that they hoped not to see around AirClan ever again.

Instead of the room being filled with growing plants and small animals living peacefully near its spring, it was now filled with evil war machines and torture devices. Instead of the lovely golden aura surrounding it, there was a devilish red glow surrounding these weapons. The ominous sight made Goldpaw, Silverpaw, and Gray-limp step back.

This was the southern AirClan camp replayed in his mind all over again. Goldpaw was upset that FireClan killed off his entire Clan, but these machines occupying a peaceful room in the temple made everything worse.

"This is a nightmare..."

"You don't understand."

The Scientist had appeared from up behind the three cats with Ashpaw following him with the same look of shock on his face. But Goldpaw's shock melted away to be replaced with anger. He felt his claws unsheathe, unable to hide his anger anymore.

_So the Scientist is working for FireClan!_

Without warning, he leaped at the cream-colored cat, knocked him to the ground, and pinned him down on the spot. Ignoring the look in Gray-limp's tawny eyes, Goldpaw snarled, "Don't fool us with that shit! You're making weapons for FireClan, aren't you?"

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

"So you were making weapons for FireClan all this time? You bastard!" Ashpaw snarled angrily.

As Goldpaw pinned the Scientist on the ground, the memory of Ashpaw yelling at the Avatar Cat replayed inside his head. This was already another secret that another cat has hidden, and it could cost him a new friend. But now, the lives of the cats in the temple could already be in danger.

Seeing the shame in his eyes, Goldpaw let him back up. But just to keep things in order, he still kept his claws unsheathed.

"Dad! You kept this from us?" Gray-limp's amber eyes were glowing with rage; Goldpaw never saw him angry while they were there. "Explain NOW!"

The Scientist gave a sigh and hung his head with shame.

"Listen to me, my boy. It was a year after we moved here. FireClan found our settlement, but you were too young to remember this tale. They were going to destroy this entire place, burn it to the ground. I pleaded with them and I begged them to show mercy to us all. They asked what I can give them. I offered...my services to them. Please understand! I did this for you!"

He padded forward to lick his son on the ears, but Gray-limp stepped back and wheeled angrily away from him. Then the cream-colored tom's eyes shined with sadness as he walked away, his stumpy tail drooping and his ears flattened.

Goldpaw sorry for the Scientist, but his discovery of FireClan in the temple tampered with that. If he hadn't introduced FireClan weaponry to the temple, this wouldn't have started such a riot.

_I don't know how to feel toward him. Why would he do this?_

**...**

Goldpaw had already told Gray-limp to just come with him and talk to his father. At first, the gray-pelted loner refused, but he finally shook himself and had meowed, "All right, I'll come. But I'm not promising anything else."

"I wouldn't ask you to," Goldpaw had replied.

Now the two cats pushed opened the door and saw that the room where the Scientist worked at looked like a tornado had torn a hole right through it. Goldpaw hadn't seen anything this messy so far.

The cream-colored Scientist was toying around with a balloon driven by a candle in a basket below it. There were two small turkey eggs in the basket with happy faces on them. He let the balloon go, and it rose up right toward the ceiling. Feeling upset about accusing him and yet determined to stop FireClan, Goldpaw and Gray-limp padded inside.

"Sir, when are FireClan coming?" Goldpaw asked the Scientist.

The middle-aged loner flinched as the candle sparked once and murmured wincingly, "Soon. So very soon."

Goldpaw padded into the room and meowed, "Don't give them any more."

"Baloney!" the Scientist insisted. "What the doodle do you mean? If I don't give them what they need, they'll destroy the home we worked on for moons!"

As the Scientist wailed this, the balloon had floated over to the three cats. It caught on fire at the end of the Scientist's sentence. It fell on the floor and the cream tom rushed forward to put out the flames by smothering it with his lame paw.

Gray-limp shook his head. "Dad...how the hell could I be proud of a father who invents machines for murder and crime?"

The Scientist whipped around to stare at his son as if he just suggested playing in a crocodile's mouth. "I just need time to think! I don't have time to beat my gums!" But while he sat to think, a bell rung and he swung his head toward it. "You must leave! Now!"

"No, Dad!" Gray-limp spat, standing by his father's side. "We won't leave! This is our home!"

"Then you two must hide! Now!" the Scientist barked, shoving some stuff on the floor aside.

He pulled a lever in his jaws and a wheel built into the floor began to turn rapidly. A trap door in the floor next to the wheel opened up, and steam rose up through the opening. Without any ado, Goldpaw grabbed Gray-limp's scruff gently in his teeth and hauled him down inside.

But suddenly, the door leading to the Scientist's office blew down, and a black-&-ginger tabby tom in a crimson cape leaped through the opening. He was standing on that same square of wood that was camouflaged with the rest of the floor when the elevator completed its drive. Goldpaw watched through a hole, rage reaching his claws, as the cat stalked toward the frail loner.

"You know better than to keep me waiting, you piece of bullshit!" the bicolored emissary cat growled. He bared his fangs as he went on, "Give us what we want and we will leave you alone."

But when the Scientist looked down to the ground at Goldpaw, the black-&-ginger tom shoved him away and snarled, "Is there anything wrong, mouse-heart?"

The Scientist shook his head and padded away, whimpering, "No, no. Nothing's wrong. Just follow me."

Seeing the sneer on the FireClan cat, Goldpaw decided that this was enough. The emissary began to pad over to the door, but it was immediately shut by a blast of air from Goldpaw, who leaped up out of the trapdoor. He landed in front of the closed door, his claws extracted to their fullest. Fury tipped the tips of each hair on his skin like a phoenix dipping its feathers into flames.

"No! The deal's off!"

"It's the Avatar Cat!" the emissary hissed with surprise, stepping back while planting his paws on the ground.

The Scientist desperately tried to shove Goldpaw away and moaned, "No, youngster! Don't get involved!"

The emissary recovered from seeing the shock of the Avatar Cat in the fur. Then he shook his head and snarled at the Scientist, "Listen here, you piece of crowfood! If we don't get what we came for, FireClan will destroy this place until it's a pile of garbage. And you'll feel my claws at your throat!"

But before the Scientist could protest, Goldpaw leaped in between them and clawed at the black-&-ginger tabby's face. While he saw the blood drip from his shocked face, the Avatar Cat spat angrily, "Get out of here, you son of a bitch! You're not leaving with those weapons!"

"Then the destruction of this temple and its cats' blood shall be on your pelt!" the emissary spat before stalking out of the room. With a frightful roar of rage, Goldpaw turned around and kicked the door shut.

While he felt angry, Goldpaw realized that the entire northern AirClan territory and its temple were in danger. If not, the temple will be beyond repair and every cat, from the oldest elder to the youngest kit, would all be slaughtered by pigs. He and his friends had to rally all FireClan weapons together and use them against their original owners.

**...**

Goldpaw and Gray-limp had met up with Silverpaw and Ashpaw outside at the tall cliff where Goldpaw, Silverpaw, and Gray-limp had went flying early. Gray-limp had already apologized to his father for doubting him and the two gave each other a heartwarming hug.

The two tomcats had already told the two WaterClan cats about what happened and, as Goldpaw predicted, they were horrified.

"This is so bad, Goldpaw!" Ashpaw gasped.

"Goldpaw, what'll we do?" Silverpaw wailed, her dark blue eyes wide with fright. "How can we keep all those machines away?"

Suddenly, Goldpaw had an idea. He remembered flying with Silverpaw and Gray-limp and how they were able to glide. These cats might not have spirituality, but they had technology. He now saw how technology had helped the Clans over the years.

He flicked his ears to the sky, where gliders were flying lazily in the sky, and replied, "I've got an idea. We got something that the FireClan cats don't! We have sky power! The ability to fly and control the air! FireClan cats can't fly, so we can win this battle!"

Just then, to their relief, the Scientist padded to them with a determined look in his amber eye. "I won't cower like a mouse anymore. I want to help you out."

"Good, 'cause we're gonna need it," Goldpaw told him with a smile. Gray-limp also gave his father a warm smile.

Just a few minutes later, all five cats padded inside into the temple to make their plans. The best way to do that was to go to the Scientist's office and be able to plan in peace. When Goldpaw saw Silverpaw gaze around her in amazement, he realized that she was the only cat to not be in here yet.

"Thanks to Ashpaw, we already got the balloon up and flying!" the Scientist purred. "He's a genius!"

"No, you're the genius!" Ashpaw purred.

"No, you are!" the latter purred back. All that Goldpaw and Silverpaw did was just give each other confused looks over this self-praising exchange.

After this was finally over, Ashpaw began to meow, "The only problem with the old war balloon was how to get it airborne, but once you did, it just kept going." He demonstrated with a model that went up and hit the ceiling. "You could put a hole in the top, but all the hot air would escape. So the question became this: how do you keep a lid on hot air?"

"Oh, if we only knew, Ashpaw," Silverpaw replied with an eye roll. Then she, Goldpaw, and Gray-limp purred together at that joke.

Ashpaw didn't listen, for he was already working on another model. But this time, this balloon had a mechanism to open and close a lid on its top.

"The answer is the lid!" Ashpaw continued meowing, his pelt bristling with delight. "You can control the war balloon if you can control the hot air in it." He demonstrated that by pulling a string connected to the lid that opened and closed it.

Silverpaw looked at it and observed, "That's really smart of you, Ashpaw."

Ashpaw gave his sister a nod before tapping his tail to the ground a few times, muttering, "Okay, so we got four kinds of bombs now. Let's see...we got fire, slime, smoke, and...um..."

"Stink!" the Scientist put in. "Do not belittle the power of stink!"

**...**

The rest of the temple cats have heard about the plan from the cream-furred Scientist himself, so everyone started working hard to counterattack. As they stood at the edge of the cliffs, they had a look of fright and anticipation on their faces.

"They're coming!" a little she-kit called.

Gray-limp nodded and called to the Clan cats, "Are you guys ready to kick FireClan ass?"

"Yes!" Silverpaw called back. "But where is Ashpaw with that war balloon?"

Ashpaw hadn't shown up during the battle. Either he fled, died, or continued his work.

Goldpaw, who was sitting on Archie's head, leaped down with his open glider on his back. "We don't know, Silverpaw. But we're just gonna have to go on without him." Tobias gave a battle screech and landed right beside his master.

Gray-limp nodded and smiled before taking a look through one of the telescopes. Two rows of glider cats stood on the terrain below, ready to launch. The disabled gray tomcat turned to give a determined nod to Goldpaw, and then the Avatar Cat began the launch sequence. He flew off with Gray-limp and the rest following him. The deck crews cheered as the glider cats launched into the air.

The gliding cats looked down to the switchback path up to the AirClan territory and its temple. It was choked with FireClan machines climbing up it. Up above, Goldpaw and Gray-limp dove like falcons, the other gliders in tow. They broke through the cloud deck and started dropping various bombs on the surprised warriors. Many fell off the path and into the crevices below.

"Take them out from the sky! Like a falcon taking a pigeon!"

The entire line of FireClan warriors lowered their spears and unsheathed their claws, but they were bombed by glider cats. Goldpaw leaped off of his glider onto a switchback just above the most advanced part of the FireClan infantry column.

As he leaped in the air, he created some Air Paws and rode them along the length of the switchback, dumping giant quantities of snow and ice on the cats below. When he reached the end of the switchback, he got off of the Air Paws and jumped back onto his glider, which was gliding by. The avalanche he created continued to drop downward, surrounding row after row of warriors. Those left behind began running back down the switchback path, yowling with fear.

Goldpaw yowled cheerfully, "We got them running with their tails between their legs! Let the slime fest begin!"

Archie flew right over the cloud deck as soundless as he could, lashing his tail around in quick eagerness. Silverpaw tossed some bombs to gliders, who appeared over the dragon and vanished back into the battle zone.

Suddenly, some huge spikes shot up through the clouds, missing Archie by a whisker. The spikes were attached to chains that disappeared into the clouds. The spikes implanted themselves deep into the rock near the AirClan Temple. Archie tilted to one side, flying to avoid the grappling hooks being thrown up all over the place.

_Shit! How long can we keep this up?_

Goldpaw let his gaze follow the chains back down the sheer mountain face. As he looked down, the squeaky wheels of tracked vehicles could be heard. Then, tanks of FireClan roared into the battle. With two huge spiked wheels at each end, these heavily armored vehicles were using the grappling hooks to allow them to climb up the cliff face. The gliders dropped bombs on them, but they had little effect, unfortunately.

Goldpaw flew up to the cliff face, stuck his glider staff into the exposed rock, and pulled out one of the seizing hooks. The tank it was attached to started to drop like a heavy boulder, but it fired another grappling hook straight up, barely missing Goldpaw by a whisker. It caught on the rock above and yanked hard, and the tank slammed back into the mountain face and began its climb once again.

The tanks climbed up the cliff face and gained the small highland area at the base of the Temple. The FireBenders in the turrets began to shoot blasts of flame from their mouths, which the gliders avoided. They dropped more bombs, but they were too futile against FireClan body armor.

One FireBender got slimed right as Goldpaw pounced into the center of an approaching platoon of tanks. The Avatar Cat literally blew them away with blasts of air, but their central cabins of the tanks just flipped over and began climbing again. The shoot more fire blasts at Goldpaw, who avoided them all, although one did slice at his ear.

**...**

Meanwhile, Silverpaw was still on top of Archie and flying next to Gray-limp, all investigating the battleground.

"Oh, shit! Those things look unstoppable!" Silverpaw rasped.

Gray-limp called back, "I got an idea! I've seen Dad fiddling around with the balancing system! It's got something to do with water!"

Silverpaw purred, "Can you take me to a nearby source of water?"

"Sure!"

**...**

Meanwhile, Goldpaw faced off alone against five tanks, blood dripping from his ear. They shot fireball after fireball at him, but he batted them away with his paws. They advanced on him little by little, but Gray-limp swooped into the fight and set Silverpaw down next to Goldpaw. The silver apprentice got into a Bending stance, concentrated, and stopped the forward momentum of one of the tanks with ice. Then, apparently Bending the water from within, the tanks' big wheels fell off.

Suddenly, a grappling hook grabbed Goldpaw's staff and dragged it backward. But Silverpaw lifted the tank up with a wall of ice and it fell over, broken down, as Goldpaw dated in and snatched back his staff. They have already disposed of two tanks, but a full dozen were now bearing down on the two cats.

Recalling when he accidentally burned her, Goldpaw leaped in Silverpaw's path and batted away fire blasts. The tanks closed in, only for the two cats to be blocked by the hulking size of Archie, who landed in front of them. He roared, grabbed one tank, and tossed it aside at the two point tanks. The apprentices got onto Archie and flew off.

They surveyed the battlefield and they saw that the situation was very bad. Broken down tanks were scattered across the battlefield, all right, but most were still climbing, now closely propped up by infantry formations. So far, no temple cat was killed, but most of them were too injured to go on with this battle.

At the landing field terrace, Silverpaw, Goldpaw, and Gray-limp were in hasty council. Tobias' feathers ruffled with exhaustion, for he had battled falcons, FireClan's messenger birds.

"Damn! We're out of bombs!" Gray-limp spat, his cheek slashed by a FireClan warrior.

Silverpaw looked to the sky and prayed, "Please, StarClan, let Ashpaw arrive in time."

_I hope so, too._

As if their prayers were answered with joy, Goldpaw saw a large balloon emerge from behind her. The balloon was dark red and decked out with a FireClan symbol. Its removable top and tail fin gave it a vaguely fish-like shape. The Scientist and Ashpaw were riding in the basket under the balloon.

The basket also contained the coal-burning plant that provided the heat for the balloon's air. Attached to the basket were four huge sacks of stuff used for weight. The balloon moved out over the battlefield as the enemy cats advanced from below.

"Wait a minute! Why don't they fight?" Ashpaw was asking the Scientist.

The cream-colored tom looked down at the battlefield and purred, "I believe this very emblem means they think we're on their side!"

Ashpaw nodded and cut off a rope with his claws, stating, "Then FireClan won't know what...or _who_...hit 'em!"

"Atta boy! It's party time!" the Scientist sang.

One of the weight sacks dropped down and blew in a huge explosion of slime and glop onto the ground. Ashpaw cut the ropes with his claws to drop the other three bombs. The slime washed most of the infantry away, but the tanks continued onward. They already reached the next cliff to scale and began using their grappling hooks.

"Fox-dung! We're out of bombs!" Ashpaw wailed.

"Hold on!" The Scientist opened his jaws to drink in some kind of scent. "Can you smell that?"

Ashpaw lifted his nose in the air, drinking in a foul scent that made the hairs in his nostrils burn. "Yeah! Is that the rotten man-eggs? That's where the gas is escaping!"

To Goldpaw's astonishment, the temple cats were working franticly to remove the grappling hooks, their fur bristling. Ashpaw began to ready the balloon's coal-burning plant to be tossed overboard.

The Scientist howled, "Ashpaw, what the blazes are you doing?"

"I'm sorry! But it's the only one we have left!"

The two cats threw the coal furnace over board into the ravine, hitting the sides on its way down. The approaching FireClan soldiers and tanks as well as the nerve-wracked defenders stopped in their tracks. The top of the Temple was suddenly rocked by a series of huge hot explosions at its base. The coal furnace had ignited the natural gas and the Temple was covered in smoke. When it cleared, the grappling hook chains now dangled in the breeze with nothing attached to them.

In the distance, the remaining FireClan cats were fleeing back down the mountain. In the nearby distance from them, Goldpaw and his pack watched the enemy flee before them.

"Cats of the AirClan temple! They're retreating!" he called to the cats behind him.

_We did it!_

Then he lifted his muzzle into the air and gave a long and loud victory yowl. All the cats behind him also joined him in this song of victory, happy that they defended their home at last from the Clan who terrorized them.

Suddenly, the war balloon entered the scenery before them on a clear downward route. "We're going down!" Goldpaw heard Ashpaw wail.

"Ashpaw! Hang on!" Silverpaw howled.

Forever grateful for what the dark gray tabby tom did, Goldpaw pounced into action, unfolding his glider and taking off in one smooth action. When he got to the descending balloon, he could see that its hot air was cooling very rapidly. Ashpaw swung his boomerang around and attached it to a rope.

"Here I come!" he called.

As Goldpaw soared by, Ashpaw tossed the boomerang toward him. It latched onto Goldpaw's hind paw, pulling Ashpaw and the Scientist clear of the falling balloon. The golden apprentice flew them back up while the balloon continued to fall from behind them.

**...**

At the main square where the cats were gathering, Goldpaw and his friends sat down to rejoice. Behind Goldpaw was a large circular stone where Silverpaw and a few tiger-striped tarantulas were resting on. Some of the hairy spiders crawled around the she-cat's belly, making her giggle.

Goldpaw now felt inspired that there were new cats living in the AirClan temple. Of course they had no source of AirClan blood at all, but the temple was brought to life with their inventions. As long as cats lived together here in harmony, this could be a place he once knew.

"Everyone, I have a confession to make," he announced, and they looked over at him. "At first, I wasn't happy with strange cats taking over this temple. But I'm now happy with this! It's just like this tarantula."

He picked one off of Silverpaw's belly, making both cats blush. "You may not have been born here and you may have no AirClan blood, but you spun an empty web and made it your home. You protect one another like a mother protecting her kits."

Gray-limp gave Goldpaw the most respectful nod he could give him and meowed, "That means a lot coming from the Avatar Cat. I promise you that."

"Hey, Goldpaw." Ashpaw sat down beside him and laid his tail onto his shoulder. "You were right about air power! As long as we got sky power, FireClan will flee with their tails between their legs!"

Everyone purred for the dark gray tabby tom as Goldpaw, Silverpaw, and Gray-limp yowled, "Ashpaw! Ashpaw!"

The Scientist also joined in, but just for a few moments. With that done, he looked out of the temple, his eyes glittering with a concerned look.

**...**

A group of FireClan cats stood around the fallen war balloon. They were heating the air in the balloon, causing it to replenish its fuel. A dark ginger tabby tom flanked on each side by a guard looked down with a sneer on his face.

"This loss is only the start of victory..."

_To be continued..._

**...**

**AvatarCat12: The fly-swallowing part was from a Judy Blume book called Fudge-A-Mania. Yeah, I read it when I was younger, but it's all in the past now.**

**Katara: I wish we had some ice cream with us. That way, the bug would be washed away like doing WaterBending.**

**AvatarCat12: Like we said before, it's all in the past.**

**Holly: ...you sure seem fanatic about letting the past behind you.**

**AvatarCat12: Yeah. It's thanks to The Lion King. So who wants to say the preview and the review thing?**

**WinxPossible: I'll say the review thing and the preview for The Ultimate WaterBender...if you don't mind.**

**Preview: Goldpaw and his friends have finally arrived into Northern WaterClan territory. There, Goldpaw and Silverpaw face a sexist senior warrior while Ashpaw meets a new friend. Meanwhile, Bearclaw gets a nasty shock while Thornflare plots to stop him.**

**Those who review this new chapter, with us returning here, will say the disclaimer and summary for the next chapter. Constructive criticism is allowed as long as it's not too harsh. Flames aren't allowed at all; if there are any, I'll use 'em for cooking S'Mores.**

**Everyone: See ya next time!**


	20. The Ultimate WaterBender

**AvatarCat12: It's been quite a while since I've updated Avatar Cat: The Last AirClan Cat, and I'm fixing to update it! (Pauses) Doesn't it bother you guys whenever I say that a little too much?**

**Katara: No. Not much. But can't you try and find another phrase to say?**

**AvatarCat12: (Shrugs) I don't know. That's the only phrase I know about updating.**

**Holly: I know there's some other stuff to say. For example, if you got sick, then you'd say you were sick and you couldn't update.**

**Kyuubi: Yeah. Like "Sorry, but I got sick." So can I say the opening stuff? (They nod) Thanks, you three!**

**Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last AirBender and Warrior Cats don't belong to AvatarCat12. They belong to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter.**

**Summary: ****Goldpaw and his friends have finally arrived into Northern WaterClan territory. There, Goldpaw and Silverpaw face a sexist senior warrior while Ashpaw meets a new friend. Meanwhile, Bearclaw gets a nasty shock while Thornflare plots to stop him.**

**Updating Date: January 20, 2012**

**Everyone: Enjoy!**

**...**

_The Ultimate WaterBender_

A small sea otter looked up as Archie flew over the open freezing water in one of the northern territories. So far, Silverpaw and the other cats became bored out of their minds. They tried stuff like fishing, swimming, and even battle training on Archie to make the time pass, but nothing was working.

Ashpaw was lolling around on his back, blankly looking up at the clouds. Goldpaw was still at Archie's head, steering without stopping. Silverpaw herself had no idea on what to do in the meantime; she had suggested more hunting, but the toms grew bored right away. Now, with no land to land on, there was absolutely nothing to do.

"Guys, I don't wanna be Mr. Grumpy Bear here, but are we there yet? Can't Archie ride faster?" Ashpaw broke the long silence.

Archie let out a low grumble in reply, looking too tired to keep flying. Silverpaw was laid down in the front of the saddle, Ashpaw was sitting at the back, and Goldpaw was at the top of Archie's head.

Goldpaw turned to glare at the dark gray tabby tom. "I got an idea, Ashpaw. If you're that strong, why don't you get off your lazy ass and take us to WaterClan!"

Ashpaw glared back at him and spat sarcastically, "Oh sure, buddy! I'd love to!" Then, wriggling his rear at the two cats, he growled as sarcastically as he could, "All aboard, everyone! Ashpaw's ready for liftoff!"

Tobias, who wasn't as bored as the cats, landed on his rear as a reply to the invitation.

_Toms! _Silverpaw snapped silently. _They get so pissed off easily! _Feeling that they were ready to fight one another, she stepped in between them and held out a white paw for silence. They quit glaring at one another and looked at her.

"Knock it off, you two!" she meowed sharply. Then she went on more gently, "It's just...after all this travelling, we're just a little bit bored and cranky. Plus, we've been flying for two days."

"For what?" Ashpaw grumbled angrily. "We can't find the northern WaterClan camp up here! There's nothing up here but seals and whales and penguins and seals and skuas and whales and other stuff! Why don't we just-whoa!"

Suddenly, a loud noise was heard up ahead. Ice was moving fast and supernaturally towards the slow Archie. Goldpaw let out a yowl and pulled the dragon's reins to starboard. Archie flew to the right and avoided the ice, but he almost tipped his passengers off the saddle, who hung on for dear life and wailed.

Then Archie went to his left as another jet of ice erupted out of the waves, but this time, this one crashed under the dragon's belly, who dropped in a wild spin into the water. Out of the icebergs, several ornate wooden kayaks came to surround Archie. They were controlled by gray and white cats that smelled like ice and fish.

Silverpaw couldn't believe it. These were WaterBending cats! _Then that means..._

As Archie was pulled with the kayaks to the mainland, Silverpaw gasped with joy, "These are WaterBenders! We did it! We made it to WaterClan!"

**...**

Meanwhile, at a FireClan ship port, Thornflare, the FireClan deputy inspected the map of the world in his tent. The other warriors around him were frisking their tails with impatience at the prospect of catching their target. Thornflare could feel satisfaction run through his veins and down to his front claws.

This was going to be the day FireClan history would be changed forever. The Avatar Cat would soon tremble with fear when FireClan would storm WaterClan shores and battle every warrior in the way. Then, FireClan would capture the Avatar Cat and kill him; that way, they would win the war.

"So he's heading north, eh? He's off to the Northern WaterClan," Thornflare chuckled evilly. "Besides, the Avatar Cat needs to master WaterBending, so he needs to look for a mentor."

He turned to address his cats, who were sitting down. They were all twitching their tails and bristling with pure excitement.

"So why the hell are we sitting here?" piped up a light brown tabby tom. "Let's get him!"

The tabby got up to dash outside, but Thornflare blocked the way. "Calm yourself down, Figtail. Have patience. We're not going to go raiding a small village of EarthClan cats."

He padded outside and watched the snow fall down as he murmured, "WaterClan is a great and powerful Clan. There's a reason they have survived fourteen years of war. The frosty tundra is an unfaithful place. The countryside itself is an icy fortress of doom to those lost in it. We'll need to use a massive invasion force."

**...**

Ashpaw watched the scenery around him as Archie was being pulled with great ease by the kayaks. Even though they made it into the northern territory, they still needed to get to the city. But he stopped looking around when Goldpaw yowled something in surprise and pointed his muzzle to something.

Up ahead was a wall of ice complete with towers and weapons at the top. It looked like it hadn't been invaded at all; however, there were seagulls gazing down at them with curiosity.

"It's the Northern WaterClan..." Silverpaw gasped with wonder.

Ashpaw replied, "Yeah...we made it..."

Ashpaw looked to one of the kayaks, where the WaterBender crew Bended in unison. Since they made it to the city wall, the WaterBenders removed a crescent opening to reveal a tunnel that led into the city. One of the WaterBenders motioned them forward and Archie swam inside. The cats looked around inside the tunnel as Archie went in, then they went to the lock where the tunnel opened into.

The lock was square and the WaterBenders lined up the tops of the lock's four walls. The three sides of the lock not adjoining to the main wall had water behind them almost to the height of the city wall. The WaterBenders opened some clean gates along the three walls of the lock to lift up the water level. The wall opposite the main city wall began to lower itself, freeing a path for the dragon to continue.

Silverpaw looked around her and squeaked, "Wow! Look at all the cats living up here!"

"We're gonna find us a mentor soon, I promise you!" Goldpaw purred.

The lock wall was dropping beneath the water line, with boats waiting in the channel beyond as Archie went out. The cats on Archie were amazed, smiling and looking around them in wonder.

The city was made of ice and snow; thus, it was amazingly beautiful, unlike the frosty bramble bushes in the south. It also had three interior walls in addition to the main city walls. All the way in the back was outwardly a bastion or temple. On a roof, an older dark gray-&-white tom and a young pale gray cat watched as Archie followed a WaterClan kayak through the canals.

Soon, more cats joined up with them. In fact, as they went, small crowds of cats and a herd of tamed musk oxen stared at them from houses and foot bridges. Goldpaw waved his tail at them with glee as they passed. The city was loaded with beautiful streams, waterfalls, and fountains all over the place. They passed another boat with a WaterBender and another cat that made Ashpaw drop his jaw in amazement.

It was a very beautiful she-cat with long pure white fur and a purplish-blue cape around her neck instead of normal blue. Ashpaw felt his heart race at the sight of her and, blushing, tried to tail her by running down Archie's tail. But he couldn't, although he now felt very smitten for her. He felt his heart beat faster when she turned to look at him with friendliness in her bright blue eyes.

"This place is beautiful!" Silverpaw purred.

"Yeah..." Ashpaw purred back, watching the beautiful white she-cat disappear, "Yeah she is..."

**...**

_Winter, spring_

_Summer and fall_

_Winter, spring_

_Summer and fall_

_Four seasons, four loves_

_Four seasons, four loves_

Irontail was singing this song while at a music night on their ship under the half-moon, which was nearly full. Firflame was playing a staccato flute while two other cats were dancing on their hind legs in front of the fire.

But suddenly, Irontail lifted his flat nose into the air and sniffed. He got a little worried and it was shown why. A pack of masked FireClan warriors padded onto the ship including Thornflare, the FireClan deputy. The music stopped as the intruders were noted. Irontail and the other cats of the ship turned around to look at the newcomers.

_Why would he turn up here? In the middle of the night?_

**...**

Later that night, Goldpaw and his friends were invited to a welcoming banquet in the plaza and they would get to see an apprentice become a warrior. He glanced at his friends with excitement and they gave him the same look. Goldpaw knew Ashpaw and Silverpaw were excited to be among their Clanmates once again. Despite being from different tribes of WaterClan, they and the northern Clan cats seemed to get along well.

Goldpaw could see three WaterClan warriors playing three big drums in unison. A huge fountain dominated the rear of the plaza. On either side, huge benches made out of ice provided seating for many viewers. The closest side of the plaza showed the backs of the city's council as well as the guests of honor, Goldpaw and his pack. At the top table, Ashpaw sat at the left, Silverpaw sat at the right, and Goldpaw sat in the middle; down below, Archie laid down while couple of attendants brought him a huge pallet of food. He roared at them and they ran off screeching, with Ashpaw smiling at that while Archie began eating.

At the center of the plaza, four attendants lowered some sort of enormous steaming platter of food or something onto a stage in front of them. Plus, all around them, many warriors were looking up at a tall rock where the leader addressed the Clan. At the moment at the head of the plaza, a dark gray tabby-&- white tom, who was introduced earlier as Brinestar, stood up to address his Clan and the cats fell silent.

"Cats of WaterClan!" the Northern WaterClan leader meowed, his voice echoing around the chilly night air. "Tonight, we rejoice the arrival of our Clanmates from the Southern WaterClan! And they brought with them a special cat, a cat whom many believed vanished from us until now. The Avatar Cat!"

As Brinestar pointed his tail to Goldpaw, the crowd began cheering. Goldpaw replied by licking his chest fur with happiness and embarrassment.

Brinestar went on, "We also celebrate the day my daughter becomes a warrior. Moonpaw, step forward."

The dark gray cat backed up out of the frame of the center area to reveal the beautiful she-cat with pure white pelt. She was flanked by two warriors, padding up to the table. They all bowed to their leader, smiling.

"That's the she-cat I told you about!" Ashpaw whispered to his friends, but Silverpaw waved her tail at him for silence.

Brinestar looked up to the night sky and called, "I, Brinestar, leader of the Northern WaterClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice. She has trained hard to uphold the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn." Looking down to his daughter, he asked, "Moonpaw, do you promise to uphold the Warrior Code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

"I do," Moonpaw purred, happiness radiating in her blue eyes.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name," Brinestar replied. "Moonpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Moonfeather. StarClan honors your kindness and loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WaterClan."

He leaped down the platform to touch Moonfeather's forehead with his nose while the new warrior licked her leader's shoulder.

"Moonfeather! Moonfeather!" the Clan cheered for her.

"Moonfeather! Moonfeather!" Goldpaw and his friends joined in, and Ashpaw was cheering for her the loudest.

Brinestar nodded proudly and called, "After our banquet, Moonfeather shall sit vigil on her first night as a warrior. Now she is ready to take a mate as she chooses!"

The young white warrior nodded to her father and mewed with a voice like sweet honey, "Thank you, Brinestar. And thank you, WaterClan. May StarClan watch over us and live in us in this time of danger."

With a nod to her father, Moonfeather backed away and went off to sit somewhere.

"And now," the Northern WaterClan leader went on, his voice filled with joy, "Snowstorm and his WaterBending apprentices shall perform their arts!" As the Clan cheered some more, the Chief flicked his ears towards three cats who now stood on the platform in front of the fountain opposite the dignitaries' table.

The center cat, a pale gray tom, was clearly the eldest with blue eyes and white spots, but there were pieces of long white fur on the sides of his head, across his upper lip, and down his back. They began using their WaterBending water power from three enormous amphorae in front of them. The crowd began to cheer loudly, and Goldpaw and Silverpaw looked at one another with delight and cheered before they began to eat.

_I bet he could be our mentor!_

Hearing gulping and tearing noises, Goldpaw looked to see Ashpaw tear into one salmon after another. The golden tom sighed with false exasperation, but he purred when a familiar white cat sat down next to the dark gray apprentice. It was Moonfeather.

Ashpaw quickly ate the rest of his fish before licking his paw and swiping it over the head fur on his head. Then he scooted over next to her to strike a cool pose and meowed in a cheesy voice, "Hey. Name's Ashpaw. Southern WaterClan."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Moonfeather purred, smiling and dipping her head to him.

At first, there was just a brief pause and neither cat spoke for quite a while. Goldpaw could see some kind of emotion clash in their WaterClan eyes. Then...

"So...um...you're the daughter of Brinestar?" Ashpaw asked her. She nodded and smiled more brightly, so he went on, "Well...you know, I'm like a leader at where I come from!"

"Ha! Leader of what? DumbassClan?" Silverpaw's teasing mew made Ashpaw bristle.

"I could be a leader at lots of things!" the dark gray tabby growled sensitively. "Now can you leave me alone? I'm trying to have a talk with a Clanmate here!"

Silverpaw rolled her eyes, made a fake bow, and teased him again, "Oh. I apologize, _Ashstar_." Then she went off to join Goldpaw at the other end of the banquet table.

Goldpaw watched as the WaterClan tom recovered quickly from the teasing and turned back to Moonfeather, who giggled about that conversation. "Hey, uh...since I'll be around for a while, would you...uh...would you like to...go hunting sometime?" he finished lamely.

Moonfeather gave him a confused look. "Hunting?"

"Yeah."

Ashpaw lashed his tail a little with anticipation, and then he took the opportunity to step away from her and take a bite out of a flounder.

"Smooth move, lover boy," Silverpaw purred, her blue eyes dancing with mischief. She seemed to like to tease him about his lame attempt at courting. Ashpaw gave his sister a cuff on the ear with his claws sheathed, but then Brinestar gave another yowl.

The Northern WaterClan leader gazed over at the direction of the three apprentices and called, "Goldpaw, step forward."

Goldpaw gave a nod to his friends and padded over to the WaterClan leader. Snowstorm was sitting right next to him, giving the apprentice a stern look.

"Snowstorm, I give you your newest apprentice," Brinestar meowed. "WaterClan values your patience and hard work, and we hope you pass on all you know to the Avatar Cat."

Goldpaw dipped his head to Snowstorm, who touched noses with him and mewed sternly, "Now remember this: You may be destined to save the world, but you're not here for special treatment. You're to be treated like any other apprentice."

Ignoring this barbed comment and recalling how he acted like a kittypet in the Tribe of Heavy Roses, Goldpaw replied, "No need to worry! My friend and I can't wait for training! ...but how about we relax a little?"

"If you want to relax, then you can go over to the tree on the island of Ga'Hoole if you wish. King Boron would really welcome you there," Snowstorm retorted icily. "If you don't want to relax yet, then I shall see you at sunrise. Good night."

**(Author's Note: The Avatar Cat world and the Ga'Hoole world coexist mutually on this FanFic.)**

With a final nod to his new apprentice, the pale gray tom got up from his spot and padded away. Seeing the confusion on Goldpaw's face, Brinestar just gave him a supportive look and it was complete with a shrug. Despite feeling confused, Goldpaw was very pleased with his comrades' triumph.

Their search was over. He and Silverpaw finally found a WaterBending mentor to teach them.

**...**

Bearclaw licked his front paw edgily on his cabin nest, careful not to lick too much or he would lose the fur on his foot. He had tried to recover from the disloyal attack by the Shirshu and its owner, April. He had failed to grab hold of the Avatar Cat once again, but he felt too hungry and tired to think about it now.

The door at the far end of the cabin opened up and Irontail padded in. Bearclaw looked away from his uncle, afraid what was going to come out. But he knew what he was going to say, so he meowed this to him:

"Uncle, for the last time, I will NOT play that damn horn!"

"But you're a skilled horn player," Irontail commented with humor in his mew, making Bearclaw look around. But he suddenly looked serious as he pressed on, "Anyways, it's not what I came here for. This is about our plans and they've gone from and to worse."

Bearclaw sat up straight as he smelt a familiar stinking scent. The scent of a certain FireClan cat named Thornflare. As the dark brown cat padded right into the cabin, the dark brown tabby tom unsheathed his claws and leaped down from his nest.

When he stalked near, he hissed, "What are _you_ doing here? Get the hell out of here!"

Thornflare chuckled darkly. "Slow down there; you'll poke someone's eyes out with those claws. Anyways, I'm taking your warriors now. I've recruited them to a trip to the Northern WaterClan."

"_WHAT?_" Bearclaw's hiss grew to a growl as he turned to his uncle. "Is this true, Uncle?"

Irontail nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid it is true. He has taken every cat with him. Even the chef!" he added sadly, wiping his eyes with his forepaw in woe.

"Well, I'm _so_ sorry you won't see me get the Avatar Cat this time," the FireClan deputy sneered, not sounding sorry. "But I'm doing this now, so stay out of my way."

_Damn him! _Bearclaw leapt at him in anger, but Irontail shoved him to the ground, stopping him from tackling Thornflare, who padded over to examine the curved daggers on the wall. Those swords were the same used by the "Red Demon" to free the Avatar Cat.

Bearclaw sneered when he saw the look on Thornflare's face. It was inflamed in anger as he seemed to recognize the blades. _He seems to recall me wielding the blades during the escape._

Thornflare took one off the wall, then he looked Bearclaw in the face, his eyes wide and mouth open. He seemed to clearly recognize the danger he was in; Irontail, visible over his nephew's shoulder, did not. The dark tabby tom took the chance to take it and practice with the dagger he removed from the wall.

"So..." Thornflare meowed as he inspected the training. "I didn't know you were a weapons expert."

"I'm not a weapon user," Bearclaw replied curtly. "Those are for decoration. They're antiques."

Thornflare flicked his stumpy tail around in the air and faced Irontail, asking him, "Irontail, have you heard about the Red Demon?"

"No. I only heard the rumors," Bearclaw's uncle told him, his orange eyes looking troubled. "I may believe in some animals like the Jersey Devil or Bigfoot, but I don't believe in those sorts of rumors."

"Oh, but he's real, all right. He's a criminal and an enemy of FireClan," Thornflare told him, his claws sliding out and scraping the floor. He tossed one of the two daggers to Irontail's paws, meowing, "But I've got a feeling that justice will catch him."

The FireClan warrior went over to the way out, but he turned to meow, "Irontail, if you still want to join my mission, you're more than welcome."

Without another word, Thornflare padded out of the cabin, leaving Bearclaw to fume silently with rage. How dare Thornflare take away his warriors! But he was glad Thornflare didn't point him out to be the Red Demon.

**...**

Goldpaw and Silverpaw padded over to a huge ice staircase to the bastion. Goldpaw was very excited about finally getting to learn true WaterBending. Of course he was excited, but he never could've made it without Silverpaw, he realized he felt his heart race at the sight of her leaf-bare thick coat.

"I can't believe it!" Silverpaw squealed with excitement. "All my life, I've wanted to learn true WaterBending! Now I get to learn from a true master!"

"I'm excited too!" Goldpaw purred back. When the two cats approached Snowstorm, who was handling a globule of water with his tail, the golden apprentice mewed with a big smile, "Good morning, Snowstorm!"

Snowstorm dropped the water globule with a scowl and replied loudly and sarcastically, "Oh no, no, no. Just come in and stride heavily in like a bear! I'm not thinking at the moment!"

"Sorry." Goldpaw gave him a weird look and flicked his paw to Silverpaw, introducing them to each other. "So...this is my friend, Silverpaw. She's the friend I told you about yesterday at the feast, remember?"

While he did the introduction, Silverpaw dipped her head to him and leaned forward to touch noses with her new mentor.

But the look the pale gray tomcat gave her disturbed and quite disgusted Goldpaw a bit. He was looking at the silver she-cat as if she was just a rowdy mosquito with malaria, a deadly disease for Twolegs.

"Oh. Well," Snowstorm began, leaping onto a block of ice and sitting down, "I see there must have been some kind of mistake. You didn't tell me this friend you spoke of was a queen. In the Northern WaterClan, our warriors forbid queens to learn to WaterBend."

This was a fatal blow to Silverpaw, Goldpaw thought with fury, but it wasn't as much as the fury of Silverpaw. Her blue eyes were mixed with shock and pure rage, her claws were sliding in and out, and her long silvery-gray fur was bristling with anger.

Feeling that something was wrong indeed, Goldpaw brushed his pelt to Silverpaw as if daring Snowstorm to attack her. _Let him try!_

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

"What the hell do you mean you won't teach me?" Silverpaw growled, stepping nearer. "I didn't haul my tail up here from the south just to hear you say 'no!'"

But all Snowstorm said was "...no."

Goldpaw felt Silverpaw's offended feelings as if they were his own. Back in the ancient Clans, both genders were equal, whether they were a leader, deputy, medicine cat, or warrior. But ever since the Clans were rebuilt, things got more different from there.

"But there has to be other WaterBending queens in this Clan!" Silverpaw meowed angrily, her tail lashing.

Snowstorm gave her another weird look and replied, "Here, Mintwhisker teaches the she-cats of our Clan how to heal with WaterBending instead of using it to fight. Despite your short temper, you can fit in well as her apprentice."

Goldpaw knew he had helped his friend discover the ability to heal after burning her throat and front paws by accident. He also knew that Silverpaw wanted to learn how to fight just as good as any warrior. But the pale gray tomcat seemed to be too stubborn to realize that, he thought with rage.

Silverpaw lashed her tail some more and snapped, "But I wanna learn how to fight, not heal! It's not fair!"

"Well, guess what? _Life_ isn't fair," Snowstorm retorted coolly. "But like the other Clans, we have rules to be followed."

Silverpaw fluffed up her fur until she looked twice her normal size. Then she slashed the snow with her claws and spat, "Well, guess what? Your rules SUCK!"

But right before Snowstorm could speak harshly to her, Goldpaw ran forward and placed himself between the two angry cats. He had imagined this cat to be a little bit impatient, even sarcastic at the edges, but he never knew his stubborn side. This warrior cat seemed to be so sexist that he even made Thornclaw of ThunderClan want to have a mate.

"She's right!" Goldpaw added angrily. "What you're saying is unfair! If you won't teach her...then I don't want you as my mentor!"

Giving a huff of rage, Goldpaw turned around right before Snowstorm leaped down from the block of ice and started to pad away. Silverpaw followed him, and they were almost out of sight when Snowstorm called back to them. There was a hint of contempt in his voice.

"Well, enjoy teaching yourself, Avatar Cat!" Snowstorm called in a very sarcastic tone. "You'll do a _fantastic_ job, I can assure you!"

"Wait!" Silverpaw called back. Goldpaw, who faced her with surprise, felt somewhat amazed as his crush meowed, "Goldpaw didn't mean all that!"

To Goldpaw, who was ready to turn away when she held him back with her tail, she mewed, "Don't risk your training for me. Even though Snowstorm's such a sexist jerkass, you have to learn from him."

Even though Goldpaw would love to protest, he felt that what she said was true. Silverpaw had been his mentor in WaterBending for quite a while and she had been rather gentle with him and correcting him kindly when he did something wrong. Snowstorm, however, may be the total opposite of Silverpaw, but he had to learn from this cat, or he wouldn't learn WaterBending at all.

So Goldpaw dipped his head to her glumly, licked her on her ear, and padded away from her to where Snowstorm sat. He was angry to see a haughty grin on the pale gray warrior's face.

"Let's get started," he just meowed, standing up.

Then he rose to his hind paws, did some motions with his front paws, and made water surround them. The WaterBender sent the wave of water right at Goldpaw, who had no time to dodge since he got caught in the wave. Goldpaw got back up right away, but he was already getting tired of this training; being here without Silverpaw wasn't fun at all.

**...**

Catching sight of Moonfeather's boat passing by, Ashpaw turned around and started running after it. He managed to catch up with her over a footbridge that spanned one of the city's many canals. Beneath the bridge, the young white warrior's boat slowly moved along the canal.

"Morning, Moonfeather!" Ashpaw called out to her. When she turned to look at him, he almost melted under the beauty of her blue eyes. He leaped down into the cold water below and began swimming by her boat, mewing, "That was some banquet, eh? Brinestar sure knows how to throw a party! I ever tasted better fish than I had in my entire life!"

Moonfeather purred at him, "Yes, I know. I'm happy you liked it."

Ashpaw pulled himself partially onto her boat, but she didn't yell at him to get off. Instead, she pulled him onboard and he told her, "Well...after you left, the party got less exciting. And your pelt sure looked stunning under the moonlight."

At that, Moonfeather looked away so he couldn't see her blush, but Ashpaw wouldn't tease her about that. He himself was also feeling hot under his pelt. _Did I just flatter her? Anyways..._

"Um...I hope we can see each other often," he went on.

"You mean an activity? Like hunting?"

Ashpaw nodded and replied, "Yeah! You know...do something...at some place...sometime?"

Moonfeather just gazed at him with surprise and the dark gray tabby tom expected the young WaterClan she-cat to refuse. But he could see excitement in her blue eyes as she purred, "Sure! I'd love to!" Flicking her tail at another bridge ahead, she told him, "Let's meet up over there tonight."

Ashpaw gave her a humble bow before padding away...and into the water. Spitting, the dark gray tabby apprentice started to paddle right to land and grabbed onto the edge of the canal. Heaving himself back onto land and shaking the water from his fur, Ashpaw looked over and saw the white warrior giggle as she waved good-bye with her tail.

"It's okay!" Ashpaw panted, laying himself down onto the snow and staring up at the sky. "It's all worth it..."

He couldn't believe this. He had gotten himself a date with a she-cat who would probably be his first mate ever to spend the rest of his life with. Ashpaw felt his heart soar with happiness and he felt as if he was already fitting in with Moonfeather and her Clanmates.

_See ya tonight..._

**...**

"I'm impressed with you. You pirates seem to be experienced for the task I have in mind."

Thornflare had already called for some allies to come to his camp, and a ship had already parked itself in the bay; it belonged to pirate cats, pirate cats that Bearclaw knew quite well. Now he was in his cabin talking with a large dark ginger tabby tom with a parrot on his shoulder and a black-&-white tom. All of the pirate cats were lapping up some whiskey from mugs.

The dark ginger tabby Captain reached for a chest on the table with his paw and pulled it towards him. Thornflare watched in satisfaction as the Captain opened up the chest and there was a lot of glowing riches inside there. The black-&-white Barker padded up to the chest, sniffed the coins, and bit into a golden coin.

"Crikey! That is some delicious booty!"

But before the other cats could reach for the gold, the Captain grabbed the coin from the Barker's mouth, and put it back in the chest. He leaned forward in his seat and looked suspiciously into the golden eyes of the FireClan deputy.

"Aye. It is good treasure. So what do you want us to do, landlubber?"

Thornflare grinned at the captain and replied, "I heard you have already crossed Bearclaw's path, right?" When the Captain nodded, he leaned forward to his ear and whispered, "So here's what I want you to do..."

**...**

Silverpaw looked back to where Goldpaw and Snowstorm were training. She hoped the stubborn old cat wasn't as harsh as he would really intend. Giving a sigh and still wishing she didn't have to heal all the time, she padded into the healing building.

Inside, a cat-sized dummy laid flat on a stone bed in the middle of the main hollow. The dummy had white pathways or channels etched all over its surface. A cat was Bending water through the pathways, and the paws glowed white the same way Silverpaw's front paws did. That was when she healed herself when she met Hayato, the Traitor.

But she looked down at those paws of the cat healing. When the healing was done, the front paw returned to its normal gray color. Silverpaw was very bewildered; when she healed her damaged throat and paws, her paws suddenly turned white and they stayed white. Why couldn't it just go back to its normal color?

But Silverpaw had no time to think about it now because she had padded to the center of the hut. Around the stone bed sat six curious apprentices while the teacher, an elderly gray tortoiseshell tabby she-cat, demonstrated. Silverpaw had just entered the room on her left.

"Greetings," Silverpaw greeted the old gray tortoiseshell. "I'm here to see Mintwhisker. You're her, aren't you?"

The old she-cat just nodded. "That's correct. So you are here to learn to heal?"

Silverpaw seized the chance to survey the room. The apprentices were all she-cats who looked younger than she; they were perhaps just around six moons old, recently apprenticed. Feeling that things couldn't get more boring, the young silver she-cat looked down at the ground very unhappily.

"Yes, ma'am," Silverpaw muttered, padding over to the stone bed. The apprentices stared up at her with curiosity; she felt like a giraffe among a herd of zebras.

"Well, welcome to the class!" Mintwhisker purred. "Now Troutpaw, show Silverpaw how the healing is done."

**...**

With a grunt of exhaustion, Goldpaw reared onto his haunches and swiped at the air with his ice claws before melting it into water. _Learning how to WaterBend sure is tiring,_ he thought as he looked over at Snowstorm. His WaterBending mentor was eating from part of a small seal a hunting patrol had brought back.

Goldpaw sat down onto the snow, feeling unhappy and sullen. Silverpaw should be learning alongside him; she looked forward to it her entire life.

"So you're moving the water around; that's a good start. But you're forgetting the push-and-pull technique," Snowstorm commented.

"I've _been_ trying!" Goldpaw growled through gritted teeth.

Snowstorm looked up while chewing on a seal flipper and letting some blood dry up. "Hmmm. Maybe that's a little too advanced for you. Let's try an easier technique."

_He made me do that WaterBending move for nothing? Damn!_

Goldpaw unsheathed his claws some more and sunk them into the snowy ground. He wished more than ever that Silverpaw could be allowed to train alongside him.

**...**

Silverpaw sighed with relief; the healing class was finally over for the day. And the class itself wasn't that bad, however, for the other apprentices had asked her curious yet polite questions. They didn't even show jealousy when she healed faster than them.

"Thank you again for the lesson, Mintwhisker," she told the gray tortoiseshell tabby as the other apprentices carried the dummy away.

"You're welcome." The old she-cat had gentleness in her amber eyes as she added teasingly, "So who's the lucky mate?" When she saw the confused look on her face, the older cat nosed the blue fox fang necklace and meowed, "You have a betrothal necklace. So you must be having a mate soon, right?"

Silverpaw now understood what she meant, but this was a mistake. "Oh! No, I'm not ready for a mate yet. My grandmother gave my mother this necklace, and my mother gave it to me when I was a young kit." She said this while smiling sincerely.

But then something amazed Silverpaw; Mintwhisker nudged the fox-fang necklace with her paw, looked down at the swirling symbols, and gasped with shock. "I remember this necklace! I didn't know you were her granddaughter! You look almost like Rainpaw! Last time I heard from her, her name was Rainbreeze!"

Silverpaw stumbled backwards a little, startled, until she fell on her behind, but she got back up. She never knew this cat was very much connected to her old grandmother. "H-How'd you know about my grandmother?"

"Ah..." the elderly gray tortoiseshell tabby meowed, "when I was an apprentice at your age, I was one of your grandmother's best friends. What's more was that she was born here in the Northern WaterClan camp."

"Rainbreeze never told us that," Silverpaw murmured, looking away.

Mintwhisker nodded and meowed, "If I knew about you earlier, I would have told you myself. Rainbreeze was going to have an arranged mates-for-life ceremony with a young WaterBending warrior. He killed a fox for that fang, you know, and he made that necklace all by himself! He loved her."

Silverpaw wondered why this cat wasn't her grandfather instead of her real grandfather, who was killed by a leopard seal before her father was born. "So if she was to have a mate soon, why'd she move away from here?"

"I don't know," the elder meowed kindly. "That's a mystery even I can't figure out. She left her Clan without saying good-bye to her Clanmates, to her family, to her lover, and to me."

Silverpaw looked away, feeling a bit upset with her grandmother. If she hadn't left the Northern WaterClan, things would have gone well for her and Ashpaw in the northern territory, and her mother wouldn't have been killed. But if she really didn't move away, they would never have found Goldpaw and help him finish his training.

**...**

Bearclaw clamped his paws over his ear and ear-hole when he heard shouts of "Good luck!" drift into his cabin. He didn't want to see those traitors ever again; if they ever crossed his path, he would make them pay for betraying him.

As he laid in his nest and curled up in a ball, Irontail's head poked out from the doorway and meowed, "Bearclaw, the warriors wish to tell you good luck on finding the Avatar Cat."

"Good riddance to those ungrateful shits!" Bearclaw spat bitterly. The dark brown tabby tom couldn't take the betrayal, so he turned away from his uncle and refused to look at him.

"It's a lovely night for a walk and a good time for hunting. Would you like to join me? It would clear your head and make you forget your troubles." But Irontail's smile fell away as his nephew refused to respond or turn around. "Or stay in your room and sit in the gloom. If that is what'll make you happy."

Then the fat gray tabby tom left and closed the door behind him. He didn't know what was going on with his nephew, but he hoped Bearclaw would cheer up soon. So he decided to forget all the tension by humming the song he was singing earlier. But he failed to notice a big green parrot fly past him...

As Bearclaw slept on in his nest, he opened his eyes just a little to hear scrabbling on this ship. He woke up straight away and looked around to see if there was a rat scurrying about, but there was no scent of rat. He had great hearing skills and he used them well when he went out hunting.

"Careful with that Exploding Jelly, you clumsy asses!" he heard a voice hiss to someone.

"Uncle Irontail?" Bearclaw meowed, getting up and stretching. "Is that you?"

He jumped out into the hallway in a fighting stance. Cautiously, he padded over to the bridge, ready for immediate battle around every corner. On there, there was some kind of twinkle that was between Bearclaw padding around the bridge a lit trail of gunpowder. At last, Bearclaw turned and looked out one of the bridge windows to see a familiar green parrot.

_Did those pirate bastards follow me for revenge?_

The parrot cawed at him just once and then took off into the air. Bearclaw felt dread like poison seep into his brain as the realization of what the bird's appearance means struck him like a tidal wave. But it was too late...

Irontail was just reaching the land when a great explosion erupted behind him. With dread, the gray tabby turned around just in time to see the bridge deck and main deck explode in a cloud of fire, blasting a familiar dark brown tabby cat out the bridge window.

"Bearclaw! NO!"

He turned tail and began to run back to the ship. But when he looked hard enough, the ship was now burning to a cinder. Irontail finally reached the dock, burning wreckage falling all around him like the snow now falling from the sky. He was dwarfed by the massive fireball that was once Bearclaw's ship.

"Bearclaw..."

**...**

Later that night, when the full moon hung high in the sky, Ashpaw padded over to the twisting staircase attached to the bridge where Moonfeather told him to meet up with her. There she was sitting on the edge of the bridge, her white fur beautifully glowing like a spirit in the moonlight; that was probably how she got her name.

But when he approached her, she looked quite disturbed about something. Ashpaw hated to see her look upset, so he took something out from his bag and nudged something to her. He made it himself; it was a not-so-good wood carving he made with his own claws.

"Hey, Moonfeather," he greeted her. When she didn't reply, he nudged the thing closer and added, "I made you something. I hope you like it."

Moonfeather looked down at it. "Oh. ...what is it? Is it a bear?"

Feeling good about being with her (and seeing that Silverpaw was right), Ashpaw purred, "No. It's a fish. If you flip it over, you can see its fin. You get it?"

"Oh."

Suddenly, to Ashpaw's shock, the young white warrior began to cry for some odd reason. She choked, "I-I'm sorry, Ashpaw! I made a stupid mistake! I'm sorry I asked you to meet me here!" Without warning, she turned away from him and ran off into the darkness.

Ashpaw felt as if his heart had stopped working as hurt and surprise stunned him like rattlesnake poison. He couldn't believe that she asked him to meet up with him the first minute, and then she turned him away at the next. This didn't make any sense at all.

Ashpaw let out a loud irritated howl of "SHIT!" and swiped at the wooden carving. It fell into the water and sunk beneath the surface. The dark gray tabby tom felt like that little wooden thing. He felt that his luck was sinking low.

**...**

Goldpaw watched as Ashpaw stalked sulkily into the large building where they were staying at. Maybe he messed up at warrior training; he might have let a fish get away from his claws.

"Hey, Ashpaw!" Silverpaw greeted him; she, Goldpaw, and Tobias were resting on a large polar bear rug. "How's your warrior training doing?"

But in response, Ashpaw just swiped at a bag on the floor in anger and let out an irritated snarl. Then he flopped down to his side on the bag, using it as a pillow.

"That bad?" Goldpaw asked him.

Ashpaw turned away hissed, "Nah, it's just Moonfeather. I'm really confused now, you two. The first thing you know is her saying 'Okay, I'll meet you at the bridge!' The next thing you know, she's all like 'I changed my mind. Scram! Get lost!'" He panted a little since the rant took some breath out of him and then mewed, "So how's your WaterBending training going?"

Now it was Silverpaw's turn to flop down onto the rug in a depressed way. She just curled up into a ball and covered her face with her tail.

"Master Shitface won't train her just because she's a she-cat," Goldpaw replied. He remembered Ashpaw being sexist one time, but this cat must have beaten him in the sexist department.

"So why don't you train her yourself? Teach her all you know?" the dark gray tabby apprentice meowed.

Suddenly, Silverpaw lifted her head with a smile on her face; she must have listened in on the conversation.

"Ashpaw, that's a great idea! How come I couldn't think about that?" She got to her paws, telling Goldpaw, "At night, you can teach me whatever moves you learned from Snowstorm. That way, you can have someone to practice with and I can learn WaterBending. And that way, everyone will be happy!"

Ashpaw grumbled in reply, "Well, _I'm_ not happy."

"You're never happy," his silver-pelted sister retorted. "Let's go, Goldpaw!"

The gold and silver apprentices ran out of the building and started leaping around in joy. They left Ashpaw behind to have an unpleasant expression on his face with a chattering Tobias.

_We both get to learn WaterBending at night! Silverpaw's one awesome cat!_

**...**

The two apprentices had checked to see if any cat was up and walking about. When there was none, they arrived at some sort of outcrop or a small square that ended with steps that went down into the canal water. There, they began their first night of practicing WaterBending in secret; they had to do it secretly for fear that Snowstorm would arrive.

Anyways, Goldpaw was sitting on his haunches and raised some of the icy water out of the canal with his front paws. Silverpaw sat from across him, observing every movement.

"Snowstorm told me that this move is all about floating and sinking," the Avatar Cat explained, sending the water over to Silverpaw, who caught it and started Bending it with her left front paw.

"I got it! This is great!" she exclaimed.

Then all of a sudden, the water began to whip around her very fast like a fish and went out of sight completely.

Goldpaw tilted his head to one side in amazement. "Wow, Silverpaw! You got the hang of it!"

But Silverpaw's blue eyes were filled with confusion. "But Goldpaw, that wasn't me."

A sudden growl made the two apprentices look up and they gulped.

An angry Snowstorm was glaring down at them with hateful blue eyes and his frame ominous in the moonlight; it was the pale gray warrior who had the water Silverpaw was Bending. While on the bridge, he froze the water and broke it into pieces with his paw in a shower of icicles that dug themselves in the bridge before him.

"Uh..." Goldpaw stammered. "Good evening, Snowstorm! I-I was just showing her some moves you taught me..."

"Save your excuses for the seagulls!" the pale gray WaterBender spat. "You have disrespected me, my teachings, my Bending moves, and the Warrior Code! You are no longer my apprentice, and I am no longer your mentor! Good-bye!"

With a spiteful hiss, Snowstorm turned away from them and stalked away, leaving Goldpaw and Silverpaw shocked.

Despite being caught and punished, Goldpaw didn't blame Silverpaw. He just wanted to help her out and he wanted someone to train alongside with. But that might not happen, for they have begun to feel that they'd sink under the waves like a boulder.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldpaw, Silverpaw, and Ashpaw were sitting glumly in the middle of the plaza where the feast was held a few moonrises ago. Silverpaw knew that Goldpaw was in big trouble for teaching a she-cat to WaterBend, but she was also in trouble for getting caught at WaterBending. She didn't know how Ashpaw got in trouble, but he was glaring at them as if to say _Why ME?_

In front of them sat Brinestar, Snowstorm, Moonfeather, and almost all of the senior warriors. All of these cats were sitting on top of some kind of platform in the middle of the plaza.

After Silverpaw explained their situation, Brinestar retorted, "Well, what in StarClan do you expect me, a leader, to do? Just pad over to Snowstorm and meow 'Please take Goldpaw back'?"

"Yes...please! He has to learn WaterBending!" Silverpaw pleaded with the Northern WaterClan leader.

"Hmmm..." Brinestar meowed, tilting his head to one side so he could think. "All right, then. He could take your friend back as his apprentice...if you know your place and apologize."

But the idea of apologizing to the stubborn old tomcat was so hateful to Silverpaw that it made the fur on her neck bristle and her claws sunk to the ground. She couldn't apologize to that cat! But she looked over at Goldpaw and knew that if she didn't do the right thing, he would be left without a mentor.

So she lowered her head and muttered, "Fine."

She looked up at Snowstorm and was disgusted to see a haughty look of satisfaction on his stern face.

"Well?" the pale gray warrior meowed. "I'm waiting, small queen. Or is your gender too scared to make a confession?"

But the thought of apologizing vanished from her brain at that barbed insult. How dare he insult her when he was going to be apologized to? She immediately unsheathed her claws even further than usual and stood up angrily.

"No! I won't bend over and apologize while you insult me, you sexist motherfucker!" she roared at him viciously.

While she roared her anger out at Snowstorm, cracks opened up in the floor beneath her as her WaterBending abilities got out of control. She ended her sentence in front of Snowstorm, almost nose-to-nose. At the end of her declaration, the huge water pots at each end of the dais exploded, spilling water everywhere.

"Look, Silverpaw-" Goldpaw began, pulling her away by the tail.

But the silver she-cat wrenched her tail out of his mouth and turned angrily back to Snowstorm, hissing with a challenge on her face, "If you're warrior enough to fight me, you pile of shit, I'll be waiting outside!"

Moonfeather gasped with shock at the younger cat shamelessly cursing at her fellow Clanmate and the older cats growled and bristled. Never before except in the four ancient Clans had an apprentice talked back harshly to an older member of the Clan. Feeling rather satisfied at their shocked faces, Silverpaw turned around and dashed away.

_Good! I'm starting to hate this place!_

Behind her, she could hear Goldpaw whisper, "She didn't mean that."

"Oh, I bet she did," Ashpaw whispered back. "I bet she did."

**...**

Irontail gave a sad sigh as he poured another bowl of cream for Thornflare. It had been around a few hours after his nephew had been killed in the explosion. The flat-faced gray tabby tom had been very upset about what happened and he had gone over to Thornflare's platoon of FireClan cats.

"Irontail, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your kin," Thornflare meowed solemnly. "Just so sorry," the dark brown deputy added in a tacky way.

The fat gray tabby tom closed his eyes in painful sorrow. If Darkstar was going to welcome his son back to FireClan as a true warrior, he would get furious at his older brother for not watching out for him. Wasn't that what being kin was about? But he had a lingering suspicion mixed with his grief.

"Darkstar will not be contented with this when he finds out that cat that's responsible for his death and the death of Webclaw," Irontail meowed, opening his tawny eyes.

Thornflare gave him a suspicious look. "Really? You know the cat that killed your nephew?"

Irontail nodded grimly and slammed his front paw onto the cream table, meowing angrily, "Yes! The one who attacked him were pirates! We had a confrontation with them around a moon ago. They seemed to want revenge."

However, Thornflare smiled all of a sudden; he looked as if he were an apprentice becoming a warrior the wrong way around. But the FireClan deputy kept a straight face by lapping up some cream and meowing, "So...have you decided to join my platoon or not?"

"Thornflare..." Irontail began, getting up and dipping his head to the dark brown tom, "I have thought over this and I hereby accept. It would be an honor to fight side-by-side with you and your warriors."

He rose to his haunches and cheered, "FireClan! FireClan!"

"Yes! Victory to FireClan!" Thornflare joined in with the yowling of the other cats around them. This was one battle that could possibly be won this time unlike the failed siege of BoulderClan.

**...**

Silverpaw stalked down the stairs to the main plaza with Goldpaw and Ashpaw following her with worried facial expressions. She didn't care; she could beat Snowstorm in a battle while in a coma...speaking in a foreign language...to deaf apes!

**(Author's note: I got that from Sly Cooper 3 when Sly was taunting Captain LeFwee.)**

"Silverpaw, you're either one brave she-cat or one of the craziest cats to live in the four Clans!" Ashpaw exclaimed as they walked down, for he had a worried look on his face. "I don't think Snowstorm will let you win!"

The silver she-cat stopped at a totem pole and began sharpening her claws on the frozen wood. "I don't care! I'm gonna fight, and that's that!"

Goldpaw joined in with Silverpaw's littermate and meowed, "Silverpaw, it'll be okay. I could just look for another mentor to teach me. You don't have to fight for me."

"I'm not doing it for you!" Silverpaw snarled at him. "It's about clawing some sense into that son of a bitch!"

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Snowstorm was already padding down toward them. But the pale gray tomcat was not looking around at them; instead, he padded around them while having his eyes closed to them. Silverpaw smirked to herself; she could win this fight already if the immovable gray warrior cat continued to act like this.

The young apprentice sneered, "Well, so you finally decided to show up, eh?" But Snowstorm just ignored her, but he shoved past her. But Silverpaw wasn't ready to give up. "What's wrong, fox-heart? Aren't you gonna fight?"

"Ha!" Snowstorm scoffed, not facing her. "I could beat you easily with my eyes closed. So why don't you give up and go heal with the other she-cats? That's where you belong!"

That insult pricked Silverpaw so hard in the heart that she unsheathed her claws, made some ice form around them, and tossed the icicles at him. The spears of ice jabbed their ends at his ear, blood spraying into the air and onto his fur. Now Snowstorm turned around, equal yet calm rage dancing in his blue eyes.

The pale gray tom growled, "All right, then. You want to fight so badly? Well, watch and learn!" His challenge instantly rallied all the WaterClan cats over to the plaza where the fight was going to take place.

On either side of the plaza at the bottom of the steps there were two pools of water. Snowstorm whipped his tail at it (the water went onto his paws) and Bended it around himself to make a shield. Silverpaw growled and leaped at him, but she was flung backwards when she was hit by the water. She stood up, now perhaps ten fox-lengths from Snowstorm. He Bended the icy water into a wall that whirled around both cats. It spun around faster and faster, creating a whirlpool effect.

"Oh, don't worry, she-cat!" Snowstorm hissed. "I won't hurt you...much."

The whirlpool got closer to her, but before Silverpaw was knocked back down she swung her right front paw, almost as if she were scooping a fish out of the water, deflecting the wall of water off on a different route. She heard a yowl of surprise as Ashpaw got hit by that same jet of water, but all that she was concerned about was fighting the stubborn WaterBender.

Silverpaw unsheathed her claws, made some ice grow around them, and dashed at her opponent, her tail whipping around as she made an aquatic whip. But he raised a slope of ice in front of her which she slid up and then back-flipped off, landing neatly on the railing of the bastion steps behind him. Snowstorm then liquefied the slope and threw it at her while catching all four of her paws in ice. The wave broke around Silverpaw, though, as she Bended it out of the way.

"Sorry, but that won't knock me down!" she taunted him.

"You go, Silverpaw!" Goldpaw was cheering as the crowd also cheered behind her. "Show him who the top cat is!"

As a very angry and determined Silverpaw bared her fangs, Snowstorm rose a sheet of ice up in between him and the angry she-cat. Silverpaw melted the ice as she reached it and tossed several blows at Snowstorm. One narrowly missed his face except for one that caught him on the cheek before he washed her out of his way. He sent it into one of the pools with a wave of water with a smirk on his face.

The she-cat broke the surface of the water, and the crowd cheered behind her. Then Silverpaw raised a circular pedestal of ice out of the fountain pool and began shooting slices of the top of the pedestal at Snowstorm while hiding behind it. Breaking sounds told her he was shattering them with kicks. A gasp made Silverpaw wonder what was going on, but when she looked out from behind, she saw a confused yet faintly impressed look on his elderly face.

Flicking her tail, Silverpaw began Bending a stream of water around her, which she chucked at Snowstorm, who caught it and twirled it around. Silverpaw leaped at him again, but he washed her backwards and onto her behind when he released the stream of water. While in the wave, she had felt claws strike her on the shoulder and she turned, breathing heavily, to see her shoulder creating a red stripe with her blood.

Giving her shoulder a lick, she got back up and arched her back. Then she made a motion with her ear and the segmented pillars of ice behind Snowstorm collapsed, narrowly missing him.

"So...you seem to be a good Bender. I'm impressed," Snowstorm told her with a little smile on his face.

"But you're still not going to teach me WaterBending?" Silverpaw growled, not falling for his courteous attitude.

"No."

With a screech, Silverpaw raised some water near her paws, froze it, and sent it in a rolling wave along the floor to Snowstorm. But the pale gray senior warrior stood on the spot and rose up a pillar of ice when the wave reached him. He melted the base of the ice pillar and began to swim forward on it, like a stick riding along a river.

Silverpaw raised her own stream of water and knocked him off his iceberg, but Snowstorm grabbed Silverpaw's front leg in his jaws and froze it in an arc around her while he slid around. As he exited the arc he kicked her down, and she felt her necklace fall off and fall onto the ice near her.

Silverpaw glared at him with pure hatred, panting heavily as blood dripped from her muzzle and fur falling from a clawed spot on her neck. Giving a smirk, Snowstorm raised a huge column of water out of one of the pools, made a whirlpool out of it in the air, and then froze it into shards.

The shards fell around Silverpaw so that she was trapped in a circle of ice shards. Her leg frozen, her body bleeding, and her pride wounded, Silverpaw struggled with all her might, but the silver apprentice couldn't get free.

"Ha." Snowstorm padded up to her with a sneer. "This fight is over and I win. Go to the other she-cats where you belong." With a final laugh, he stalked away from her.

Silverpaw wasn't going to give up easily. She roared, "Get your tail back over here, bastard! I'm not finished yet!"

Snowstorm stopped and began to meow, "Of course you...you..._what?_"

To Silverpaw's rage, the pale gray cat bent down and picked up her necklace in his jaws.

"Put that down right now!" she snarled.

"T-This is...my necklace," Snowstorm rasped, nostalgia in his mew.

"No it's not, asshole!" Silverpaw spat. "Give it back! It's mine!"

Snowstorm shook his head and croaked, "Y-You don't understand. I-I made that necklace for her...for the love of my life...for Rainpaw..."

He flicked his tail at her and Silverpaw felt the ice turn to liquid around her, and she could see her blood mixed with it, turning the snow red. She was shocked; this cat was Rainbreeze's mate-to-be? She could remember Mintwhisker's talk the night before:

_Rainbreeze was going to have an arranged mates-for-life ceremony with a young WaterBending warrior. He killed a fox for that fang, you know, and he made that necklace all by himself! He loved her._

"Wait! You were going to be my grandmother's mate?"

_Tell me more!_

**...**

Irontail waited until a cat in armor approached him from where he was padding down a corridor. The cat removed its head armor to reveal the scarred dark brown face of Bearclaw.

The dark brown tabby tom had survived the explosion except that his nose was scarred and on his pelt had been large scars. When the dark brown tabby had swum to shore, Irontail pulled him up and embraced him hard, happy that he survived. Now Bearclaw was in disguise as one of Thornflare's warriors, ready to bring down the Northern WaterClan.

"My nephew," Irontail purred to Bearclaw, pressing his nose to his, "Thornflare doesn't suspect anything. Our plan is working!"

Bearclaw gave him a determined look, but he told him, "But Uncle...you didn't have to do this for me."

Irontail replied as he laid his tail on his shoulder. "Ah, but no nephew of mine will leave without backup he knows well!"

"Thank you, Uncle Irontail," Bearclaw purred, licking his uncle on the ears.

But before the two cats could explain the plan even further than they would like, Irontail could hear sets of approaching pawsteps from the deck above. Maybe that cat was Thornflare, but if the FireClan deputy discovered Bearclaw, the plan would fall to ruins.

"Shh! Someone's approaching!" he hissed to his nephew, his pelt bristling. While Bearclaw put the head armor back on his head, Irontail went on, "Stay in your disguise until we come to the Northern WaterClan, then make your move right, and the Avatar Cat shall be yours! Good luck!"

**...**

"I-It's true. I killed the fox to get the fang, and I dyed it," Snowstorm began, thumping his tail sadly on the snow. "I made the rest of the necklace for Rainpaw...I mean Rainbreeze...when we were to be mates-for-life. I hoped we would be happy together forever, for I loved her more than the Clan, more than the Warrior Code, more than life itself."

Silverpaw murmured, "But she didn't love you back, did she? It was just an arrangement."

Suddenly, she heard Moonfeather gasp from behind her. Silverpaw turned to see shock and tears formed in the beautiful white she-cat's blue eyes.

When Snowstorm gazed down at the ground with sorrow, Silverpaw's previous hatred for him melted away into compassion. She still wished Snowstorm told her earlier, but then she realized that his sexist behavior was caused by her grandmother's parting.

So she padded up to the grieving elder, licked him on the shoulder, and mewed, "All I know is that Rainbreeze wouldn't let her birth Clan's damn customs run her life. That's the reason she left her Clan. That probably took up all the strength of LionClan."

Behind her, Moonfeather suddenly let out a crying mew of grief and ran away from the group of crowding cats. Silverpaw didn't know what was going on with her brother's crush, but she didn't pursue the subject.

She could also hear Goldpaw murmur to Ashpaw, "Go after her. She'll need you." And the sound of disappearing pawsteps told her that Ashpaw obeyed.

Then Silverpaw began to meow, "But what about Goldpaw-"

"I'll take him back for training," Snowstorm choked out. "I'll also let you be my apprentice as well. I'll teach you everything I know." He turned away and murmured, "Rainbreeze, I'm doing this as an apology to you. I love you."

**...**

Ashpaw lifted his muzzle into the air to catch Moonfeather's sweet scent on her pelt, but he could already hear her crying. And he found her, crying over the same bridge that they met up at just yesterday night, and the full moon was shining on her pelt.

The dark gray tabby tom gave a weary sigh and padded to her, hoping to give her words of comfort. Suddenly, Moonfeather whirled around and glared at him through tear-filled blue eyes.

"What do you want now?" she sobbed

"I'm not asking you for anything," Ashpaw told her calmly, sitting down next to her. She moved away from him a little, but he continued, "Look, I want to let you know that you're a beautiful she-cat. And...I never thought a she-cat like you would ever be mates with a tom like me."

The white-furred she-cat looked at him and rasped, "You don't understand."

Ashpaw nodded. "That's what I'm saying, Moonfeather. I think I understand you now. You're the most respected warrior and beautiful she-cat in this Clan...and I'm the lowest and least-known in mine. You're a warrior and I'm an apprentice; I don't think it'll work anyways."

Moonfeather shook her whiskers and began to meow, "No, Ashpaw..."

"It'll be okay," Ashpaw interrupted her. Turning around to leap down from the rail, he meowed, "You don't have to say anything else. I better go-"

To his amazement, Moonfeather stepped toward him and rubbed his face with hers. Ashpaw couldn't believe it; she liked him back and she was showing it now! He didn't pull back, for he relished in the softness of her fur and the sweet scent on her fur.

As they broke apart and stared into each other's eyes, he stammered, "Um...I'm confused now. Confused...but happy."

"Ashpaw...I've liked you since I first saw you and I still do! In fact, I...I love you!" Moonfeather purred, rubbing her face to his again.

But she stepped back, murmuring, "But we can't be mates, but not in the way you may think. I..." To his shock, she used her forepaw to lift up her neck fur to reveal the same necklace his sister had. She croaked, "I...I have to be someone else's mate! I'm so sorry, Ashpaw!"

And to his second disappointment, yet an understanding one, the white warrior leaped down from the rail and ran away into the moonlit night. Ashpaw sighed and leaped down from the rail, but he turned around and began walking back to his nest.

**...**

The next morning, Goldpaw was back in training with Snowstorm, for he had been quite willing to have him back. The golden Avatar Cat stood in front of the other apprentices, she-cats mixed with toms now, and tossed a ball of water with his tail over to the side of the training area.

"Not bad!" Snowstorm purred, sounding happier than he had been. "By the time you reach my age, you'll get it through!"

Hearing that, Goldpaw felt a stab of worry jab his mind like a thorn in a tree trunk. Avatar Cat Whitestorm had told him that he needed to master all four elements by the end of greenleaf, but what would happen if he took too long in learning one element? Would he have to spend the rest of the six moons left just learning WaterBending?

But before he could react, he heard a yowl behind him and he could see Silverpaw running to the class, her silver fur glowing white in the early sunlight; her scars healed after the fight from the day before. Goldpaw greeted her with a happy yowl and a nose touch before she dipped her head to Snowstorm.

To his shock, Snowstorm growled at her icily, "What are you doing here?" It seemed as if he was rejecting her after all.

But his glare turned into a sly grin as he got into a practice pose and purred, "You're ten minutes late. The sun is already rising in the sky. Let's begin training."

"It's good to train with you, Silverpaw," Goldpaw murmured to his crush. She could be stubborn and sharp sometimes, but she was a great and kind cat in the end. No wonder he liked her.

Silverpaw smiled back at him. "Same to you, Goldpaw."

**...**

Irontail felt his fur bristle at the chilly air nipping at his skin as they entered some of the most bone-chilling northern territories. He stood side-by-side with Thornflare on the walkway of the ship's bridge, dutifully awaiting the next orders. He himself hadn't been this far up north in his life before, but this was one place that would arouse his interest.

"My army is ready," the stumpy-tailed deputy meowed, his whiskers blowing in the wind. "We will set a platoon to WaterClan! Victory will be ours!"

Behind them, around hundreds or so fleet ships were swimming right behind his, their weapons and engines ready for a final assault on the Northern WaterClan. The end was near.

_To be continued..._

**...**

**AvatarCat12: All right, I better go for the moment. And don't forget; today's my friend's girlfriend's birthday. She'll be turning 20 today.**

**Katara: Wow. I don't see anything wrong with dating someone older or younger than you. I mean, Aang's two years younger than me, but we're still together.**

**Holly: Same here. Genki's just three years younger than me, but we're still dating. But anyways, would you like to say the extra stuff again, Kyuubi?**

**Kyuubi: Yeah. Here's the preview for Attack On WaterClan.**

**Preview: Thornflare, deputy of FireClan, launches a huge and fatal attack on the Northern WaterClan camp. His forces grow so big that Goldpaw has to resort to higher help. In the meantime, Ashpaw joins up with the fight, and Bearclaw continues his spy job.**

**Review, please! No flames allowed. And constructive criticism is allowed.**

**Everyone: See ya next time!**


	21. The Attack

**AvatarCat12: Today, we're having a guest with us today. And today, it's gonna be Sokka. So what're you doing here again?**

**Sokka: Yue died during the finale of our first season, so I want to see her cat form before that cat dies. And I REALLY hope that's okay.**

**Katara: (Hugs him) Of course it's okay! All of the Water Tribe are kin in spirituality.**

**Holly: She's right, Sokka. I might not know everything about the Water Tribe, but it seems you stick together no matter what.**

**Sokka: Yeah. That's how I felt when Bato came over and helped us in Rock Dodging. And is it okay if I say the disclaimer and other stuff?**

**AvatarCat12: Sure.**

**Sokka: Thanks, buddy!**

**Disclaimer: He owns neither series. Look 'em up. You'll see who owns them.**

**Summary: ****Thornflare, deputy of FireClan, launches a huge fatal attack on the Northern WaterClan camp. His forces grow so big that Goldpaw has to resort to higher help. In the meantime, Ashpaw joins up with the fight, and Bearclaw continues his spy job.**

**Updating Date: January 24, 2012**

**Everyone: Enjoy!**

**...**

_Siege On WaterClan: The Attack_

Silverpaw circled around her nervous foe, a dark brown tom, in the repaired square where she battled Snowstorm a few days ago. Ever since her battle against him, the pale gray cat had been nicer to her, all she-cats, and all the cats that padded past him. This was due to his love for her grandmother, Rainbreeze.

While the younger brown cat looked nervous, Silverpaw remained confident with a sly smile on her face while her fur glowed in the morning sun. She had grown much in WaterBending power ever since she became Snowstorm's apprentice and trained alongside Goldpaw.

Immediately, the brown cat whipped his tail in the air and summoned a ball of water, which he turned to ice and threw at Silverpaw. Smiling, Silverpaw leapt into the air, Bended the ice around her, melted it, and sent a vast stream of water back at the tom, who was washed up and rearward. As he was washed away, she rushed in to give his ear a quick cuff and turned the water to ice, trapping him about ten tail-lengths of the ground.

Snowstorm padded up from behind her relaxing form and sat beside her. "That was a nice try, Rowanpaw, but you'll be able to fight a panda when you're about my age."

Rowanpaw flattened his ears with embarrassment as he continued to struggle. Snowstorm turned away from the apprentices, made a motion with his sweeping tail, making the ice prison melt. Thus, she dropped the unlucky apprentice to the ground.

"Now, would anyone else like a rematch against Silverpaw?" the pale gray tom asked, turning back to the other younger apprentices, most of them being toms.

The toms, who had fought, shook their heads out of fear from their southern kin. But the she-cats politely shook their heads.

Snowstorm looked Silverpaw right in the eyes. "Well, Silverpaw, you've advanced more swiftly than any apprentice I've trained in my warrior career. You've proved that, with fierce strength of mind, passion, and hard work, you can achieve anything."

Silverpaw purred and licked her mentor on the shoulder.

"Raw talent alone is not enough," he mewed sharply towards Goldpaw, who was wrestling with Tobias. Just because Snowstorm became friendlier didn't mean he lost his sarcastic attitude.

Goldpaw leaped away from Tobias, who ruffled his feathers and flew off, and asked innocently, "Yes, Snowstorm?"

Snowstorm flicked his tail sharply to his spot and meowed, "Would you like to have a go in training? You must be a good WaterBender already since you always find time to play games with the birds," he added sarcastically.

"Well..." Goldpaw began, padding over to the spot and sitting down in the center, "I don't know if I mastered this yet, but...check this out!"

At the last part, the young golden cat spun around in circles after his tail until he was fenced in snow. When the mist cleared, Goldpaw had snow so packed over his short pelt that he looked like a polar bear. Tobias gave a squawk and landed on his head.

Silverpaw and Snowstorm stared at him with the same expression: disdain. Snowstorm gave a huff of disgust and shook his head while Silverpaw felt that her friend should take this training seriously. The silver she-cat knew she had to fight to give him his lessons back.

Silverpaw just shook her head, telling herself, _He'll need time, though._

**...**

Ashpaw gave a purr when he flicked a small sphere of snow at Moonfeather with his tail. It hit her on the side of her beautiful face while she carried a squirrel in her jaws. The she-cat gave a playful growl in return, and they began to wrestle on the ground; it finished with her on top of him. Ashpaw never felt more alive than he ever had in moons.

"So anyways," Moonfeather panted while getting him up and licking him on the cheek," the Southern WaterClan doesn't have palaces as big as these?" She pointed her tail toward the tall buildings that reached for the sky.

Ashpaw leaped backwards and replied, "Are you shitting me? I grew up under a bramble bush covered with snow! It's not exactly what you call the most comfortable nursery."

Moonfeather didn't protest at the obscene word that he uttered. Instead, she laughed with a warm smile and rested her tail on Ashpaw's muscular shoulder. But after a moment, she pulled back from him and looked at the dark gray tabby tom seriously.

The young white warrior looked deep into his eyes and mewed, "Ashpaw...I do like being with you, and I love being by your side...but this feels so wrong."

"What?"

"Our relationship. I have to be paired up with a mate soon. It's just that...it feels..." She pulled her gaze away from his and began to pad away, her tail dragging along the snow.

Ashpaw felt his smile falter, for he felt very bad for the young warrior. He remembered a few days ago when Silverpaw had battled Snowstorm because of his sexist attitude just like his own had been moons ago. But the elder's sexism was all because of his own grandmother Rainbreeze leaving the cat who loved her.

And even though he wanted to help Goldpaw on his journey to master the elements, he wanted to never leave Moonfeather's side. And he got the perfect idea to cheer her up.

Ashpaw's smile returned as he called after her, "Hey Moonfeather! I know just the thing to cheer you up!" When she looked over her shoulder back at him, he ran up to her side and added while panting, "I'll introduce you to the Avatar Cat's animal guide! His name's Archie!"

"Archie?"

The dark gray tom nodded.

**...**

A few minutes later, the two lovers were outside Archie's pen; the white Asian Lung Dragon was chomping on a dead walrus that had been killed after dying from an infected wound a warrior's bite left on tough hide. Ashpaw leaped in front of Archie and Moonfeather followed him rather cautiously.

"Archie and I go back to the beginning of leaf-bare! Isn't that right, buddy?" Ashpaw purred to the dragon. But the thunder of Archie's shifting mass was heard and Ashpaw's mild cockiness turned to surprise as Archie suddenly pinned the apprentice down with his forepaws. "Whoa! Easy there, Archie!"

Archie began licking his face happily and Ashpaw sputtered, "Down, boy! I mean up!"

Moonfeather purred and Ashpaw gave her a look of mock anger. The white she-cat mewed, "I'm sorry, but it looks like he hasn't got attention for a while!"

_Damn. She's right! We gotta give him some attention. _Ashpaw realized this when he slid out from under the white-furred reptile with pure ease.

A few minutes later, Ashpaw and Moonfeather had managed to lure him out of the stall with the squirrel caught earlier. Moonfeather was worried that they would waste prey, but her younger "mate" had convinced her that they could always catch another. Anyways, they were now on top of Archie's saddle.

"So how do you get the hang of it?" Moonfeather asked him.

Ashpaw turned to her and asked her, "You mean hanging on tight?"

The white she-cat lowered her gaze. "Yes."

"Don't you worry! We've done this so many times that I can't even count how many! Dig your claws into a clump of fur, because get ready for one heck of a ride!" Ashpaw responded happily. Then he looked out to the horizon and purred with a smile on his face, "Yip...yip."

Immediately, Archie let out a massive roar of joy and lifted himself noiselessly into the air. Within a few minutes, the three of them were now flying high in the sky as they passed some angry skuas. Moonfeather gasped when they flew through the clouds and over the water, relishing in the fantastic view.

When Archie got high into the air, the two cats could see the city and the waters outside the main city gate. Archie flew sluggishly yet smoothly through the sky as they passed a large flock of geese. These birds were returning north from the south and getting ready for newleaf.

Moonfeather gazed down at the white shining environment with amazement on her face. "Wow! I never knew that you could do this every day!" she added while her cheeks glowed with a transparent red from that comment.

Ashpaw stretched and sat down next to her. "Yep! We basically live up here! Archie's like our own moving camp!"

"Is it always colder up here than on the ground?" the white warrior asked him as she curled up into a ball. To Ashpaw's amazement, she pressed up against his dark gray tabby pelt until they were getting warm while next to each other.

"Not if you're with another cat," Ashpaw purred, licking her on the head.

Moonfeather looked him in the eyes, a powerful look of love and admiration in her blue eyes as she blushed. She snuggled closer and purred, "It's so beautiful up here! And...I love hanging out with you, Ashpaw."

Ashpaw smiled at her and purred back, "I love hanging out with you too, Moonfeather."

The two cats stopped what they were saying and stared into each other's eyes. Ashpaw was now hypnotized in a good way as he stared at the young WaterClan warrior with admiration while she looked at him the same way. Moonfeather looked so beautiful and so precious to him. The dark gray tabby tom couldn't bear it if she was to die or if it was the other way around.

Slowly, the two lovers leaned in and rubbed each other's faces as gently as they could. Ashpaw enjoyed the feeling of her warm fur, now very happy that he loved her a lot. When they were done, they looked each other in the eyes once again.

"Yep," Ashpaw purred, his breath soft and warm on her face. "Those are some good times!"

All of a sudden, what looked strangely like snowflakes gently fell from the blue white-patched sky. "Look!" Ashpaw told Moonfeather.

Archie flew through the snowflakes, which were strangely black instead of their beautiful white. But when Ashpaw sniffed a drifting snowflake, his heart was morphed from a feeling from confusion into one of pure horror. He knew what exactly these black snowflakes were.

"Oh no...it can't be!"

Moonfeather looked at him and asked him with fear in her eyes. "W-What's wrong, Ashpaw?"

Ashpaw looked around Archie and saw that the black snow was falling everywhere. He looked down at the city to see that the other cats of the Clan were staring up at this spectacle with looks of confusion. He could see Goldpaw and Tobias playing in the snow and not seeing anything. Tobias caught a black snowflake in his beak and spat it out with disgust. Now Goldpaw finally looked up at the falling soot while Silverpaw, Snowstorm, and the other cats near the fountain looked up at the weird snowflakes falling onto the white snow.

When Archie landed, Ashpaw sniffed the air again and realized that the black snowflakes weren't really snowflakes at all. "It's falling soot."

Moonfeather gazed at him with shock and Ashpaw went on, "I've seen this before. This was back when I was a kit...it was the moment before FireClan attacked my own Clan. This is soot mixed with snow."

"But why?" Moonfeather asked, fear in her soft voice.

Ashpaw sniffed again and rasped, "Oh shit. That means FireClan's coming! And by the smell of it..." He sniffed the air again and felt the irises of his eyes widen with fright "...then that means there's a lot of them! They're coming to attack!"

Since Archie had landed on the outer parts of the wall, Ashpaw and Moonfeather looked out across the ocean horizon, where dark gray clouds were rolling around and forming. This might be a snowstorm, but there could be a moment to fight to the death.

**...**

"Irontail, this marks the day that the history of the Clans changes forever!"

Irontail gave a fatigued sigh and nodded as he heard Thornflare making one of his conquest speeches. The two tomcats were on the bridge of the deputy's flagship while the rest of the platoon sailed after them, cutting through the waves.

Thornflare gave a purr as he rasped with proud triumph, "Just think, Irontail! Many seasons from now, cats will open their history books and study the powers of the great Thornflare, deputy of FireClan, who destroyed the last tribe of WaterClan and sent it into extinction forevermore! You'll be very lucky you're here to see this!"

"Ah, but be careful what you wish for," Irontail warned him. He had remembered when his own brother wanted to be the leader, and he would do anything to get there. Darkstar was too much like Tigerstar to dissuade him. "Even history cannot be merciful to its subjects."

"Are you speaking from your own experience?" Thornflare purred with a sneer on his face. "Don't worry about it. This will not be like your legendary failure at BoulderClan."

Irontail knew there was no dissuading him, so he sat down again and murmured, "For your own sake, I hope not."

Thornflare gave a triumphant nod. "Good. Now tell the senior warriors to prepare for our first strike!"

Irontail nodded and padded away and padded down into the inner hallways of the ship. There, he had to pass by several warriors before finally reaching Bearclaw, who was still in his disguise. The young dark brown tabby tom had a wary yet determined look on his scarred face.

"Bearclaw, we'll land in a short while," the fat gray tabby whispered to his nephew. "Do you have a plan?"

Bearclaw removed his mask quickly and meowed, "Uncle, don't worry. I'm working on it."

Without another word, he put the mask back on and the two cats split up until the time was ripe for the picking Irontail knew that this was maybe the best plan that his nephew had ever come up with. His honor would be restored when he would finally catch the Avatar Cat and bring him to Darkstar.

**...**

Ashpaw pricked his ears up as he heard two gongs being rung as many sleek-pelted warriors raced past him and Moonfeather. The gongs that he saw were symbols representing both the moon and the ocean on it. A few minutes later, they joined up with Snowstorm and many Clan cats racing up the steps of the citadel.

Suddenly, Moonfeather stopped in her tracks and turned to look at the dark gray tabby apprentice with pure misery in her bright blue eyes.

"Moonfeather, what's wrong?" Ashpaw asked her, trying to nudge her up the stairs, but she wouldn't budge. "We have to go! Now!"

But the long-pelted she-cat shook her head and leaped away from him. "Ashpaw, we can't hang out together anymore. And I can never see you ever again. Not ever."

Ashpaw gazed at her with shock. _What the hell is she talking about?_ "W-What? What do you mean? But we're..." The words choked in his throat like a large piece of fresh-kill. "We're just...friends, aren't we?"

"Ashpaw, I'm glad we hung out together, and I wish we CAN be friends," Moonfeather rasped, her voice choking. "But...I like you too much and I get too confused being around you too much. I...I have to be another tomcat's mate."

"But do you love him? Do you even like him?" Ashpaw asked her gently. He already knew that Snowstorm loved Rainbreeze very much, but she didn't return the favor and ran away instead. This almost felt like the time when Emberstar had to leave the Southern WaterClan to fight for his Clan.

Was Moonfeather going to do the same?

Said she-cat gazed at him, her eyes watering as she croaked, "But I love my Clan."

Ashpaw padded up to her and whispered softly, "But you're not going to be _their_ mate, are you?"

"Ashpaw, you don't understand!" Moonfeather wailed while failing to hold back her tears. "I have a duty to perform for Brinestar and my Clan! I-I don't think I should have any more friends from other Clans! Goodbye!"

With a wail of despair, the beautiful white she-cat wrenched herself away from him and ran off.

Ashpaw felt very disappointed in Moonfeather for doing this, but he wasn't angry at her. Instead, the happiness he felt earlier was gone and replaced by misery. He remembered that, when he was angry at Goldpaw for hiding Emberstar's map, Tigerstar told him to not have any more friends or allies outside of WaterClan. Was he doing the same to Moonfeather or was she hiding her real feelings?

_Aw, shit! Why can't she just decide for herself?_

He had no time to find out, for all of the WaterClan cats had gathered around the plaza where Brinestar had called for the gathering. Snowstorm and Moonfeather were sitting beside him while Ashpaw sat beside Goldpaw and Silverpaw. Ashpaw looked over at Moonfeather to see if she would notice him, but she wasn't looking at him.

"Cats of Northern WaterClan!" Brinestar yowled to his cats. "The day we feared would come has finally come. FireClan is now ready to attack. It pains me to call my family before me, knowing well that some recognizable faces might vanish from our Clan. But they will never vanish from our hearts and our souls. Now, as we move toward the battle for our existence, I must do this."

He rose to his haunches and lifted his forepaws up to the heavens in prayer. "I call upon the great spirits in StarClan: the Spirit of the Ocean and the Spirit of the Moon! StarClan, fight alongside us and be with us!" He lowered his forepaws and continued his address. "I'll need volunteers for a very dangerous mission."

Many cats rose to their paws, padded up to their leader, and dipped their heads to him. Ashpaw joined in, desperate to prove that he was a reliable warrior. "I'll help."

"Ashpaw! Don't!" Silverpaw called for him, her blue eyes widened with fright. Goldpaw looked on with equal surprise and some other emotion that the dark gray tabby tom couldn't read.

Brinestar didn't protest at the idea of an apprentice joining a pack of warriors to take FireClan on. Instead, he nodded at the chosen cats and declared, "Now I must give you this warning. Many of you might not return, for you will risk every tuft of hair, every slash of the claw, and every drop of blood for your Clanmates. If you want to accept the mission, come receive your marking."

At that, the warriors formed a line in front of the WaterClan leader to receive their special mark. It turned out to be three red lines on the forehead, made from some paint or ink Brinestar had in a bowl in front of him. Soon, Ashpaw was the second cat in line. As he padded forward, he turned over his shoulder and locked eyes with Moonfeather before turning around again and padding away.

Moonfeather began crying silently to herself, and Ashpaw felt bad for her. But he was going to do this for his Clan's brother, for Moonfeather, and for his friends. He had to.

_I have to._

**...**

Goldpaw licked his chest fur nervously. He knew he had to face against an army of FireClan cats sooner or later. He hadn't been able to save his own Clan when they needed him, but he knew he was going to make a difference this time.

He stopped licking his fur, leaped onto one of the posts at the top of the bastion steps, and looked over the city walls to the ocean horizon. Suddenly, Goldpaw sniffed the air and turned around to see Brinestar approaching him, his blue-green eyes hollow with sorrow and determination.

"This is a dark day for my Clan. The silence before the battle is awful," he rasped as Silverpaw padded up to behind Goldpaw to his left. "It is as silent and dreadful as an owl in the dead of night."

Goldpaw felt the same guilty feeling of leaving his Clanmates flood his mind. But he pushed it back, for protecting WaterClan was important. He turned to give Brinestar a fierce determined stare as he mewed, "You know, I failed to help my Clan when they were wiped out. But this time, it'll be different."

Brinestar gave the Avatar Cat a small nod while Silverpaw pressed her fur soothingly against his golden pelt. Goldpaw gave her a sad purr and stood up on top of the pylon, gazing upwards at the sun rising up against the sky. The time to fight was looming on the horizon like the sun.

**...**

Several hours later, Goldpaw, Silverpaw, and Ashpaw had joined up with the other WaterClan warriors in a beautiful sunny day. It was a shame that a horrible battle was going to take place. From Archie's left side, they looked up at the wall to see a line of skilled Northern WaterClan warriors, who were lining up at the top of the city wall. Their faces had been painted for war.

Goldpaw nodded at his friends from on top of Archie, while his friends below nodded back to him. Then they turned their heads back to the ocean with fierce battle looks of determination etched on their young faces.

Hearing water ripple, Goldpaw could see a ship gliding across the water from a long distance. Suddenly, it launched a great fireball, which hurtled in a straight line at the center of the city wall. It struck the water symbol in the center of wall and blew a massive hole right through it. Many warriors were blown backwards into the city by the concussion, along with enormous lumps of ice and rubbish.

Others were not so lucky, for they had fallen into the icy water and were snatched up by leopard seals. Other unlucky cats were crushed to death from all the pressure of the falling snow, debris, and stones.

_The battle has begun..._

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Another fireball raged through the sky and flew in a straight line toward the city of the Northern WaterClan. It landed in a canal with a large explosion of smoke, water, and fire. The cats could see the FireClan pack launching another fireball from the trebuchet on the approaching ship's foredeck. It struck the right side of the city wall, shattering a piece of it, though no cats fell this time.

Archie leaped backward and roared as the black smoke and exploding ice created destruction all around him. Goldpaw gave him a pat on the head with comfort; Ashpaw knew that the Avatar Cat couldn't afford for his dragon to cower in the heat of the battle.

"Yip yip!" Goldpaw commanded. Archie leaped off of the wall and towards the FireClan Navy ship while the defenders on the wall tried to reorganize on top of the wall.

Mintwhisker had come to give some herbs to the injured warriors while they moaned about their lost Clanmates. Behind Goldpaw and Archie, Ashpaw was looking around the wreckage of the ruined wall.

"Silverpaw! Where are you?" the dark gray tabby tom called for his sister.

He padded right behind a large hill of snow, which began to shake and move. A large portion of the snow mound blew out of the way as Silverpaw used her tail to WaterBend it away to release herself. As she fell down a little, Ashpaw helped her get to her paws just in time to see two more fireballs come over the city wall.

**...**

Archie let out a huge roar as he soared through the "snowing" sky. Goldpaw sat near his horns, feeling a sense of duty fill him from his ear tips to the tips of his claws. There was no turning back now; now was the time to stand and fight.

As the two of them approached the FireClan ship, it fired a few more fireballs at them. Archie dodged them while Goldpaw kicked the last one out of the way with his staff. The kick changed the route of the fireball and it went wild, undamagingly striking the ice sea cliff way to the left of the city.

"I'll take over from here, buddy!" Goldpaw told Archie. "Don't worry about me!"

Archie gave an understanding grunt and began to invert himself, allowing Goldpaw to just off the saddle into a free fall. The dragon flew out of the way as Goldpaw continued his drop; he could feel the cold wind bite and nip at his face as he gathered speed. After a few seconds, he opened his glider and closed in on the ship. Dodging some more fireballs, Goldpaw arrived on the foredeck, breaking the rest of his fall by using his staff as a bamboo blade.

Once he landed, he used his tail to whip up a strong gale that blew much of the crew off the ship. The Avatar Cat leaped up onto the arm of the loaded trebuchet and began to pad down it. A huge brown tom blocked his way, however, and he was forced to climb back up the machine. But two more cats climbed up the trebuchet and appeared behind Goldpaw. They swiped their claws at him and missed, denting the trebuchet. Finally, Goldpaw jumped into the air and, with a mighty blow, blasted the trebuchet into pieces.

Goldpaw sprinted over to the other trebuchet on the deck. With his teeth, he broke the chain that stops the trebuchet arm from overextending and then fired the trebuchet. The arm overextended, and the weapon shot its fireball into the deck, straight through the forepeak and into the water below.

Goldpaw dashed back up the deck to two more trebuchets, FireClan warriors in tow. He tied the chains of the two trebuchets together in a bow knot, remembering what to do when he was a kit in the nursery. He then scampered over to one of the machines firing mechanisms and kicked it into operation. The activated trebuchet drew the one it was tied to across the deck right towards itself. When the one struck the other, they fell apart into a pile of futile rubbish.

With satisfaction, Goldpaw purred as he sprung over to another trebuchet and was aware that he was being observed by a large dark gray tabby with amber eyes. He was about to strike the firing mechanism with his claws when he saw the warrior come nearer. Goldpaw sheathed his claws in fear, barely avoiding claw and tooth blows that tried to strike him. But while he hid behind one of the trebuchet's girders, Goldpaw was caught by a paw blow and was slammed to the ground, blood trickling from his mouth.

But just before real damage was done, Archie suddenly swooped into the scene, sweeping the warrior out of the way with his large claws. He turned to the other warriors and leaped at them, roaring so loudly that the cats fled with their tail between their legs.

Goldpaw got to his paws and nuzzled his Asian Lung Dragon happily and gratefully. "Thanks for the rescue!" he purred, and Archie licked him in reply. _Everyone can use a dragon as a friend someday!_

But suddenly, the ship began vibrating fiercely. A huge spear of ice broke through the foredeck right into the sky. Goldpaw looked over the port side hull, which was encased in fast expanding ice. The FireClan ship had been fenced by WaterClan skiffs full of WaterBending cats; together, they pulled the ship out of the water on a bed of ice. Their work done for now, Goldpaw and Archie took off the now heavily sinking deck.

As Goldpaw and Archie rose above the now wrecked ship, Goldpaw felt his satisfaction turn to one of horror and surprise as he looked in front of him. The horizon was full of FireClan ships as far as the eye could see.

"Oh shit!" Goldpaw murmured with shock. "There's more?"

**...**

Ashpaw weaved among the older warriors on the stairs, prepared for battle and ready to prove himself. They met up with Brinestar at the plaza and the WaterClan leader summoned them to hear another speech of encouragement.

"Warriors of WaterClan, you'll be breaking into the FireClan platoon," he meowed loudly. "To do that, you'll need some of these uniforms..."

He kinked his tail to another cat and a heavily-armored ginger tabby tom padded forward. He looked quite arrogant, and his amber eyes were glittering with pompous pride. But Ashpaw saw that the armor, which was indeed FireClan, was not the current standard that was used now. In reality, the shoulder armor had wings that curved upward.

_That looks so ridiculous! _Ashpaw snorted to himself with amusement and began laughing loudly. But when the warriors gave him strange looks, the dark gray tabby apprentice lowered his head and flattened his ears.

The ginger tabby snarled at him, "What's with you, smartass?"

Ashpaw looked up at him defiantly and pointed out, "I know FireClan uniforms don't look like that! Especially not with wings!"

"Of course the uniforms look like this!" the ginger tabby tom retorted snobbishly. "These are real uniforms taken from real FireClan warriors!"

"When? Fourteen years ago?" Ashpaw retorted right back.

Brinestar put in, "Actually, around twelve years ago."

Ashpaw went on, "I know. But FireClan cats don't wear the blades anymore! The new uniforms are more streamlined like a fish!"

To prove his point, the WaterClan apprentice padded forward, used his paw to bend the tip of one of the shoulder spikes back with the tip of his claw, and let it out. It bounced right back to its original shape.

But to his fury, the ginger tabby tom hissed at his leader, "Brinestar, are you sure we can trust this cat?" Glaring at Ashpaw with bullying hatred in his amber eyes, he added, "He has way too much bold talking for an apprentice!"

"Oakfoot, Ashpaw is an apprentice from our Southern brother Clan," Brinestar explained to his warrior. "He has shown a lot of craftiness for a cat his age, and I value his participation in this battle. I advise you to trust him for your Clanmates."

Ashpaw took the chance to give a smug look at Oakfoot, who wasn't pleased by the way his ears flattened with anger. He could show this ginger tabby warrior that he could be a valued warrior and capable of taking a battle blow. But if Oakfoot wasn't going to have faith in him, that was his own problem, not his.

Then he looked back up at Brinestar, who had leaped on top of the tall block of ice and addressed his Clan. "All right, warriors. Our first part of the mission is to find and identify the commander of this fearsome platoon."

"His name is Thornflare." Ashpaw almost wished that he hadn't spoken out, but there was a chance that the warriors could find this warrior easily. "He's a middle-aged cat with dark brown fur, amber eyes, a stumpy tail, and a big temper."

"Ashpaw," Brinestar's mew made Ashpaw look up at him. "Oakfoot is the cat leading the patrol into this mission, so give all of the information you know to him and to him only. And I would like for you to show our newest apprentice some respect, Oakfoot. I won't expect anything less from my daughter's future mate."

Suddenly, dread and shock slammed into Ashpaw harder than a blow from an enemy. He stared after Brinestar, who leaped off of the block of ice while Oakfoot licked his paw and swiped it over his ear. The dark gray tabby felt his jaw drop at the last announcement.

Feeling that Moonfeather was going to be mates with an arrogant mouse-brain, Ashpaw bared his fangs at Oakfoot. "What the hell? Moonfeather's gonna be your mate?"

"Of course! Why?"

"Nothing. Just...congratulations," Ashpaw muttered. He couldn't afford to start a fight with the young warrior. If he fought right there and then, he would be sent away from the mission faster than a cat could catch whitecough.

Giving a sigh, he spun around and started padding away from Oakfoot.

**...**

As sunset arrived, Irontail studied the battle around him. Up to now, one ship had been oddly captured, but no others had been caught after that. The advancing ranks of FireClan ships fired volleys of fireballs towards the city. Some landed right inside the city and some even hit the outer wall.

Irontail could see a fireball diving somewhere in the city, but a large wave of water barricaded itself in front of the burning rock, dousing it. The fat gray tabby tom could remember a move like that over a long time ago, but he couldn't remember when. For now, he had to focus on guiding Thornflare through the battle without mishaps.

As the dark brown FireClan deputy watched the attack from the bridge of his flagship, Irontail padded up to him from behind.

"Thornflare, twilight will be here anytime soon," the former FireClan warrior meowed. "As your armed force counselor, I have to advise you to stop the progress of your attack for now. The WaterBending cats can draw their power from the moon and it is nearly full tonight. Why don't you just wait and resume the attack when dawn arrives?"

Thornflare twitched his whiskers with eagerness before hissing, "Irontail, you know I am aware of the problem with the moon; I'm working on a answer. But you're right, my ally. We'll resume the attack at dawn."

From his command, the front rank of FireClan ships dropped their anchors for the night, and then the fleet parked themselves outside the city's main wall. Thornflare's ship might have been in the second line of ships, but it looked two times bigger than the others. The FireClan warriors would attack at dawn.

**...**

Plumes of smoke rose over several sections of the city that have already been bombed. Goldpaw and Archie flew in close to Silverpaw and Moonfeather, who were sitting in front of the citadel. They were looking out over the city and its walls to the line of threatening FireClan ships.

"They stopped firing their weapons," Moonfeather was uttering. "But...why?"

As soon as Goldpaw let Archie fly towards the snow in front of them, Silverpaw was the first to notice and call out, "Goldpaw!"

Archie landed on the plaza at the base of the Citadel steps with Moonfeather and Silverpaw running down to them. As Archie landed, he laid down on his belly, his feet too tired to keep him up. Goldpaw felt small and dejected in the saddle; there was too much FireClan ships to repel. He slid off and came to rest next to Archie's left forepaw.

"I can't do this..." Goldpaw rasped, shaking his head and wrapping his tail around his paws. "I-I just can't..."

"What happened out there? Did you get hurt?" Silverpaw asked him, noticing the blood dripping from his mouth.

Goldpaw looked the silver she-cat in the eye and muttered to her, "I'm okay. It's just...I took down a few ships, but there's too many of them out there! I can't fight them all at once!"

Moonfeather put in, "But you're the Avatar Cat! You've got to!"

"I'm just one cat," Goldpaw moaned. "How can I fight them all?"

He lowered his head to his front paws and laid there on the spot, unable to get up due to despair and shock. Silverpaw sat down beside him and started licking his ears in comfort. He had to find a way to stop FireClan, but there were too much of the golden apprentice to handle. He didn't know what to do.

_What the hell _can_ I do?_

**...**

The full moon was rising in the sky as Irontail met up with Bearclaw just right at Thornflare's command ship. The dark brown tabby tom was out of his uniform, but his body revealed fresh scars from the explosion seen earlier by the pirate cats. Speaking of them, Irontail hadn't seen any of those pirate cats just yet.

Irontail watched as Bearclaw leaped down from the ship and onto a kayak attached by a string in the air above the water. He hated to see his nephew go, but there was no other was to advise against his nephew.

"Now remember," Irontail was advising his kin, "if you're going to catch a penguin to eat, make sure that you grab onto its beak or it'll break away to breathe."

"Uncle, I don't have any time to hear you wisdom right now," Bearclaw muttered, not sounding angry.

Irontail gave a sigh of affection. "I am sorry, my nephew. I just nag because I want to make sure you're safe. Ever since I lost Wolfcloud at BoulderClan..."

But he turned away and held back his tears at the thought of that memory of his son dying. It was too painful to speak about, even in front of Bearclaw, who had cared very much for his cousin. It also pained him to hear about Wolfcloud's death when he was younger.

Suddenly, Bearclaw leaped right back onto the ship, looked his uncle in the eye, and murmured, "Uncle...it'll be okay. You don't have to say it if you don't want to."

"But... Ever since Wolfcloud died at BoulderClan, I've always thought of you as my own son," Irontail rasped. He put some more words into this by laying his tail affectionately on the dark brown tabby tom's shoulder. Bearclaw didn't try to jump away; instead, he gave him a solemn nod.

"I already know," he replied, dipping his head to him in respect. "We'll meet again after I capture the Avatar Cat. I promise."

Suddenly overcome with fatherly emotions, Irontail lifted his tail away from his shoulder and pulled his nephew into an embrace that lasted for a few seconds. When that was done, Bearclaw pulled away gently, leaped back onto the kayak, and began lowering it down to the icy water below.

Feeling that advice should be given out, "Irontail called out, "The Breath of Fire can save your life out there! Remember it!"

Bearclaw answered back, "I'll remember!"

"And make sure to rub your paws on the ice and snow!" Irontail yowled some more. "That way, you'll keep your paws warm! And don't lick your fur too much, or you'll freeze faster!"

"I'll be fine, Uncle!" Bearclaw, now far below his uncle, called out.

Irontail gave a sigh of worry as he gazed out at the horizon of the freezing harbor. As he watched his nephew depart, he could see the entire fleet of ships that separated Bearclaw from his most ultimate goal.

The gray tabby sighed silently to his nephew, _Good luck._

**...**

Ashpaw didn't know he was applying too much pressure to the tips of his claws and, for some reason, it was causing speaks to fly off the tips. He had been sharpening his claws on a rotating wheel alongside Oakfoot. Since no sparks flew from the warrior's claws, Ashpaw began more agitated.

"I gotta tell this to ya, Asspaw," Oakfoot meowed, distorting his name, "I've liked a lot of she-cats when I was an apprentice, but Moonfeather seems to be the finest of the lot...and she's got those assets feminine."

Ashpaw's pale blue eyes bulged with anger as he growled, "What do you mean by that?"

Oakfoot looked at his claws and sharpened them some more, going on, "Look, Moonfeather's a nice cat and everything, but the deal that I made with Brinestar isn't all that bad, either."

"Wait a minute..." Ashpaw stammered, his neck fur rising. That was why Oakfoot was to be Moonfeather's mate. "You're just trying to make yourself the deputy, aren't you, you bastard?"

"Whoa, hold on there!" the ginger tabby tom retorted, sheathing his claws and standing on all four paws, gazing at Ashpaw through hardened amber eyes. "Why do you care a lot about what we think? You're nothing but a low-life apprentice from the Southern WaterClan! No offense, but what do you possibly know about our political life?"

That remark made Ashpaw hiss with pure anger. Now he was ready to make this cat pay for his cockiness! Without noticing the warriors around him, the dark gray tabby tom pounced right on top of Oakfoot. He pinned him to the ground and started to slash at his ears harshly.

Ashpaw's fur was bristling as he hissed angrily, "No offense, but I believe you're a cold-hearted piece of shit! Damn you to Hell!"

Oakfoot replied with a claw swipe to the face and the two cats rolled around on the ground in anger. But just before things got hairy, a gray paw suddenly swiped at Ashpaw's nose and he was hurled off of Oakfoot. The ginger tabby tom, meanwhile, was dragged away from Ashpaw's flailing claws.

Brinestar, who was the cat that clawed at Ashpaw and dragged him off, was glaring down at him with deep disappointment and anger in his eyes. Ashpaw didn't cringe, but he glared up at him defiantly.

"Enough fighting NOW!" the gray-&-white leader roared. "Ashpaw, it seems you can't be trusted to go with us without clawing the ears off of our fellow warrior. You're hereby banished from the mission. Now get your tail out of here!"

With a growl, he nipped Ashpaw hard on the ankle, and the dark gray apprentice dashed out of the training area. Ashpaw was very disappointed; he couldn't believe Moonfeather was going to be this cat's mate. What was more was that he had lost he chance to prove himself as a warrior. But he felt that he proved himself to be a traitor of some type.

"Fall in, warriors!" Oakfoot was summoning the WaterClan cats, excluding Ashpaw, around him. "If any cat obeys the commands I say, we'll be sure to defeat this Tornflame cat!"

"That's _Thornflare_, jerkass!" Ashpaw called angrily after the disappearing cats.

**...**

Bearclaw used his front paw to paddle a little around the ice while in his kayak. He was wrapped up in some kind of gray apparel. He felt his blood burn at the thought of capturing the Avatar Cat before Thornflare could.

Nearby, some gray seals were heard making barking noise. Bearclaw's kayak floated silently near the damaged city wall, unnoticed by the watch guards patrolling on top of the damaged barricade. He beached the small boat on the ice near the wall and saw more than a few gray seals disappearing into a hole in the ice.

_Where are those seals going? _Bearclaw thought to himself. _There ought to be a breathing hole somewhere around here..._

He took off his gray disguise, took a deep breath, and jumped into the icy water, vanishing from any cat's view.

**...**

As Goldpaw, Silverpaw, and Moonfeather gazed up at the full moon rising high into the starry sky, Moonfeather was meowing a tale.

"Legend tells of the moon being the first WaterBender in the world before our ancestor and Clan founder, Water," Moonfeather began to meow. Goldpaw's head was still lowered, but his ears twitched to hear the story. "Our ancestors could see the beauty in pushing and pulling the tides, so they learned to do that themselves."

Silverpaw looked up at the moon, her silver fur shining a beautiful white in the moonlight, and her blue eyes narrowed with some kind of knowing. She murmured, "Every night, I could feel my WaterBending powers growing stronger than it could in the day. I guess the moon's having a lot of power over that."

The pure white she-cat turned to her and purred. "I may not be a Bender, but I do know about this legend. Our strength came from Water's two children: Tatkresiwok, the Moon Spirit, and Sedna, the Ocean Spirit. Those two siblings work together in peace."

Suddenly, the word "Spirits" rang in Goldpaw's mind like a light at the end of a cave. He could do just what he had one a few moons ago: ask StarClan for help just like he had done to contact Avatar Cat Whitestorm.

"You just gave me an idea, Moonfeather!" Goldpaw praised her, sitting up and feeling relieved now. "I could find StarClan and ask _them_ for help!"

"But..." Moonfeather's bright blue eyes narrowed with confusion. "But how are you going to do that?"

"He's the Avatar Cat," Silverpaw explained to the confused young queen. "Goldpaw's the bridge between the real world, StarClan, and the Dark Forest. He can try to talk with one of them!"

Then Moonfeather began smiling hopefully. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that? I just hope StarClan will give you the wisdom you need to help my Clan!"

Then, to make a mountain out of a molehill a little more, Goldpaw stood on his hind legs, swiped at the air, and meowed, "Or StarClan can send a huge crazy water wave from the sky and defeat them!" But when he saw the two she-cats look at him in a confused way, he got back to all four paws and added sheepishly, "Or wisdom will do!"

But Silverpaw had a worried look in her dark blue eyes as she mewed, "There's a little problem, though." She turned to him, her whiskers twitching, and meowed, "You got to StarClan's hunting grounds last time by pure accident! How are you gonna get there this time?"

"I have an idea," Moonfeather spoke up, padding away. She looked over her shoulder, kinked her tail for them to come to her, and meowed, "Follow me."

After a bit of walking, the three cats arrived at the front of a wooden door. Moonfeather was going to reach up and undo the lock when Goldpaw suddenly spoke up quite respectfully.

"Excuse me, but is that door the way to StarClan?"

The white-furred she-cat purred, "No. You'll have to get there on your own, I'm afraid." Pushing open the door with her muzzle, she went on, "But what's inside will help you, young Avatar Cat. It's the most sacred place in all of the Northern WaterClan territory: the Moonpond."

Goldpaw padded into the room while Tobias, who was with his owner the whole time, flew off of his head and onto Silverpaw's. What the two apprentices saw next amazed them beyond any belief.

Inside, there was a long pool of water glistening with stars. At the back of the hollow, there was a waterfall coming from the glacier way above. On the sides of the pool were two ledges by which a cat could land at the back of the hollow. The landing was filled with green undergrowth despite the weather, another smaller pool that looks almost tropical in nature, and a small cross-shaped gate like structure very much akin to a Chinese paifang or a Japanese torii. The hall was connected to the ledges on the side of the chamber by two wooden foot bridges.

Goldpaw looked around the room at the amazement of the beauty of the Moonpond.

_I found a way to StarClan!_

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Goldpaw ran around the left bridge, purring at the beauty around him. This was the perfect place to communicate with StarClan and this seemed to be a good place for hunting. But he knew that he couldn't eat before he could talk to his warrior ancestors.

Then Goldpaw rolled around in the grass and purred, "I never knew I could see fresh grass in the middle of leaf-bare!"

Silverpaw and Moonfeather nodded before Silverpaw began panting. "Great StarClan above! It's so warm in here! I wish I can shed my pelt right now!" she panted, but she was smiling too. "But how's it possible?"

"Out of all the spiritual places in our territory," Moonfeather explained, "this Moonpond is the center of it all, so that's why it's so warm."

A splash and a squawk made Goldpaw look up from rolling on the grass; he looked over to the other pond. Two carp, one black with a white spot and one white with a black spot, were circling around each other like crazy, and Goldpaw could see why. Tobias had flown off of Silverpaw's head and was trying to catch one of the fish in his talons.

But before Goldpaw could chide him for messing with the fish, Tobias began cowering under Silverpaw and Moonfeather, who were staring down at him sternly. Tobias took the chance to fly away from the fish and rejoin his master.

The Avatar Cat looked around him and purred, "Moonfeather, you're right. It feels so...peaceful. I can feel it!"

Moonfeather gave him a nod. Goldpaw promised himself, _I'm glad she knew where this place is! I wish we can pay her back sometime._

Sitting down in front of the circling fish, Goldpaw laid down in the grass, closed his eyes, and lapped up some of the cool delicious water, careful not to disturb the fish. Then, he felt himself relax in a meditating way. He was ready to meet StarClan once again...deliberately this time.

**...**

Giving a sharp gasp for breath, Bearclaw flopped down on top of the ice in a cave underground. He had started following the tunnel from a long way, for he could hold his breath underwater longer than any other FireClan cat; plus, he was a good swimmer.

As he breathed on his paws to get them warm, the gray seals suddenly began barking like crazy. The mission could go wrong with all that deafening noise.

"Shut up, you damn seals!" Bearclaw hissed at them. "I'm trying to think!"

The gray seals stopped barking immediately, but when Bearclaw got back up and padded over to an icy waterfall, they started up their barking again. The large dark brown tabby tom rolled his amber eyes as he slipped through the tunnel at the back of the rushing water.

_My goal is almost there._

**...**

Still feeling angry about what happened, Ashpaw slashed his claws down so hard on his own battle armor (since he wanted to defend himself on his own now) that blood seeped up from under his paws. He was very angry at Oakfoot for not taking some blame for what happened in the fight. He was also angry at Brinestar for not trusting him.

"Ashpaw, is something wrong?" Brinestar's voice made him jump a little since the WaterClan leader had come up from behind. But Ashpaw didn't want to face around to talk to him._ What does he want now? Can't he leave me alone?_

He growled sarcastically, "Oh no! Nothing's wrong! It's just that...that...that damn stupid Oakfoot is out there leading that secret mission while I, the smart cat, has to stay and do apprentice tasks! Of course nothing's wrong! I'm fine!"

Brinestar didn't raise his voice when he heard that. Instead, he gave a sigh and sat down next to the angry apprentice. "I'm sorry I took you off the mission. I took you off for a cowardly reason. But now I have a special warrior's mission for you."

"Like what?" Ashpaw growled, still not looking at him. "Clean off the shit from the hooves of the musk oxen?"

"No," Brinestar meowed, the leader's voice hollow with concern. "Your special mission is...to ensure that my daughter Moonfeather is safe and sound. Protect her with your life."

That made Ashpaw's anger melt away into equal concern; he finally looked up at the gray tabby. He wanted to make sure Moonfeather was okay, and they could spend more time together during the attack. Now it seemed he was finally given another chance to prove himself.

So he kept a straight face while dipping his head to Brinestar and mewed, "Yes, Brinestar. It won't be hard at all."

_Moonfeather! I'm doing this for you! _Ashpaw sent this message telepathically to his lover. In the meantime, Moonfeather's father gave him a nod and padded off.

**...**

Bearclaw padded through the cold icy tunnel with all of his might; the cold atmosphere stung his wet pelt harder than a swarm of angry bees. He slipped just once, but he got back up and kept on moving. Finally, he left the tunnel behind into the bottom of a large pool of water. He swam up and broke the surface with his front paws, gasping for air. The top of the chamber was inches above his head.

Bearclaw regained his breath then looked just underneath the water line to check for exits. The dark tabby warrior spotted one, dove down, and entered yet another tunnel. Going around one bend and then up, he saw what looked like an exit to open air. But when he reached it, it proved to be just thinner lighter colored ice.

Afraid that he was running out of breath, Bearclaw concentrated, unsheathed his long claws, heated his front paws to red hot, and placed them on the thin ice. He burned through it and came out into an ice tunnel within the Northern WaterClan city. He lied down for a moment to regain his strength.

**...**

Goldpaw was trying hard to concentrate on what path to take to StarClan's hunting grounds, but the talking between Silverpaw and Moonfeather was quite annoying. The two she-cats were trying to whisper, but they weren't succeeding.

"Why's he lying there like that? And why did he lap at the water?" Moonfeather was whispering.

Silverpaw whispered back, "Clan cats always do that when they want to speak with StarClan. But right now, he's trying to meditate...trying to cross over to our warrior ancestors' territory. It takes a lot of concentration."

As Goldpaw crossly opened one eye at being interrupted, Moonfeather padded up from behind and asked him, "May we help you in any way?"

"Why yes, actually," Goldpaw retorted, turning slowly around at them. "How about..._QUIET TIME_? I can hear everything you're saying! I need to concentrate!"

That made Silverpaw close her mouth and Moonfeather murmured an apology before stepping back. When he turned back to face the fish, the two black-&-white creatures were circling around one another in front of him.

Goldpaw could feel spiritual energy radiate from them as he continued staring down at them. But as he watched, they blurred together to create a Yin-Yang sign, a sign he hadn't seen for a while. He felt his eyes and arrow stripes glow white before closing his eyes and laying down in front on them.

Silverpaw watched as Goldpaw finally slumped down in front of the Moonpond and fell fast asleep. She hoped that her friend was okay while going to StarClan, for he had went there by accident while trying to stop a rampaging Tyrannosaurus spirit.

"Is...is Goldpaw all right?" Moonfeather whispered to her silently.

"Yes," Silverpaw murmured back, careful not to distract him. "He's already headed to StarClan's hunting grounds. As long as we don't move his body around, he'll be fine. When someone moves him about, he'll come back to this world and out of StarClan's territory for a while."

But the pure white-furred she-cat didn't look too convinced; she slowly began to back away and whimpered, "Maybe...we should get some help. How about that?"

Silverpaw shook her head; unlike Moonfeather, she was going to protect him at all costs. "No! I'm not leaving him! I'm perfectly capable of protecting him...even at the cost of my own life."

"Well, well, well," a familiar and yet haunting voice growled, bouncing off the icy walls and chilling Silverpaw's fur. "Looks like you _are_ one brave warrior after all."

There was no mistaking that voice; she had been angry at the owner of the ominous voice for blackmailing her with her own necklace. But she couldn't help but step back and recoil at the taunt in his mew.

"No..."

And at that, Bearclaw suddenly leaped down from the top of the doorway and in front of her. The dark brown tabby tom had a lot of scars on his body, and his pelt looked as if it had been turned to ice. Bearclaw shook himself once and the small icicles flew off of him.

"Oh yes, it's me," he purred ominously. "Give him to me, and I won't lay my claws on you."

Immediately, Silverpaw whipped her tail at Moonfeather to leave. The white warrior did just that while the silver she-cat planted herself between the sleeping Goldpaw (who was still traveling in StarClan's territory) and her enemy. Bearclaw, ready to fight the FireClan warrior to the death, swiftly unsheathed his claws.

Almost at once, Bearclaw unsheathed his claws and leaped forward, firing several blasts of fire. Silverpaw managed to block all three with water from the Moonpond. He fired several more as he towered over her, but on the last one, she used enough water to not only douse his fire, but to hurl him backward and lay him flat on the ground. As she leaped forward and gave his leg a sharp nip, Bearclaw kicked her away by kicking her in the jaw and got back to his paws.

"That's a nice move you got there, apprentice," Bearclaw spat, staggering a bit. "But I came too far for him, so I won't lose to a slow slug like you! Who are you anyways?"

"My name is Silverpaw!" she retorted. "I am an apprentice of WaterClan, and I'm stopping you from taking my friend!"

He fired another blast at her, which she blocked successfully. Silverpaw, with her lip bleeding, threw another stream of water at him, hurling him back again. He barely kept hold of his balance, but Silverpaw froze the water under him; all four of his paws were frozen in the ice. Then, with a massive output of effort, Silverpaw lifted a forepaw, summoned a churning sphere of water from the main pool behind Bearclaw, coated him in it, and froze him entirely.

Silverpaw felt a satisfied smirk spread across her face. She had grown tougher because of the training she received from Snowstorm. Rainbreeze would be proud of them both.

"You've got a new mentor, huh, you little bitch?" Bearclaw snarled, his voice muffled by the ice.

_That's right, bastard! _she retorted silently.

As he ended his remark, the ground began shaking and the ice began glowing yellow and orange. With a blast of fire, the shell of ice shattered, releasing Bearclaw as he leaped at Silverpaw. They traded clawing attacks and they caught each other on the faces. Bearclaw got behind the she-cat and almost got Goldpaw's scruff, but Silverpaw pushed him out of the way. He got blown over to the right ledge, trying to recover. Silverpaw used her tail to raise a huge wave of water that raised him to ten or more fox-lengths up the wall, freezing him once again.

**...**

As the sun shone on the faces of three WaterBenders looking out at the bay, Irontail felt a great amount of respect for those felines. Those cats were fighting hard to save their home at the cost of their lives and they were experienced warriors. Thornflare, on the other paw, was gazing at them with another emotion: triumph.

"It is dawn at last. Let's go, Irontail. It's time to rewrite the history of the Clans," the dark brown tom purred evilly.

Irontail said nothing, but he gave a sigh and padded over to the cabin to give out instructions to move ahead to the grand city. This was one of the times when he had to obey a cat no matter what their actions could be. And the ships moved outwards to the city and parked right outside the city walls.

At once, the brow of one FireClan ship dropped its bowsprit and used it to slash open the vast city's main wall. The bowsprit was then used as a bridge by FireClan troops entering the city, much as the ancient Roman Corvus was used. Their claws were extracted, their teeth were bared, and their fur bristled at the thought of blood at their paws.

Thornflare chuckled low and evil-like as he meowed, "Listen to me well, Irontail. I don't care if that damn city of theirs is so resistant a polar bear can't break in. Their deaths will be swift and very painful. FireClan will win this very day!"

**...**

As Bearclaw remained frozen in the spot with his head down, Silverpaw believed that the dark brown tabby was finally defeated. So, giving her clawed shoulder a lick to wash off the blood, she rose wearily to her paws and padded off to join Goldpaw. But she didn't notice the dark tabby look up suddenly...

Just when the sun rose above the sky, Silverpaw heard water dripping and steam hissing in the air around her; she turned around to see an empty ball of ice right through the steam. But before she could gasp with surprise, she felt a large weight ram her from one side and she fell against a large palm tree, unconscious.

But before she fainted, she could see Bearclaw standing above her, the sun turning his fur russet as he growled, "You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun..."

Right after that, her vision gave way to temporary darkness.

**...**

A few minutes later, Silverpaw woke up finally and stretched long and hard. But while she did that, pain shot through her head after she fell against the tree. So she sat up, shook herself, and licked her paw to wipe the blood off of her head. But what she saw next made her heart sink.

Tobias was circling around the pond, cawing sorrowfully and Bearclaw wasn't there at the spot anymore...but neither was Goldpaw. Their scent was quite distant with grass and other plants dug up everywhere and thrown all over the place. Bearclaw might have dug that all up to disguise the scent and the blood from the battle.

"Goldpaw! No!" Silverpaw wailed, wincing and falling down on her side.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over her and she recognized Archie swooping down towards the silver apprentice. There were two cats perched right on top of his broad head; they were Ashpaw and Moonfeather. It seemed that the white-furred warrior had sent for help right away and Ashpaw was the best choice for encouragement. As soon as Archie landed, the two WaterClan cats leaped down from the dragon and landed next to the silver apprentice.

"Silverpaw, what the hell went on here? I heard Bearclaw came and attacked you. Where'd he go?" Ashpaw asked his sister with concern.

Silverpaw blinked back tears and rasped, "Bearclaw _did_ come here. He knocked me out and snatched Goldpaw away from me. This is all my fault."

"No it's not!" Ashpaw comforted her, licking her ears calmingly while Moonfeather laid her tail on her shoulder. "You probably couldn't handle him on your own. But where'd they go to?"

Silverpaw had no answer to that, but she did look off into the distance, tears falling from her dark blue eyes. She was supposed to protect him and now she failed; however, she prayed to StarClan that her best friend was okay.

**...**

Up on top of the glacier over the city, the tundra wind was blowing down hard on Bearclaw's thick fur. He had to drop the unconscious glowing Avatar Cat, get under him, and carry him over his shoulder like an extra pelt. He had to find some prey sometime soon, but fresh-kill was very scarce out in the blizzard. And he had to avoid several creatures like polar bears, woolly rhinos, and even the local polar leopard.

But he felt very proud of himself, he thought when they disappeared into the blizzard; he had managed to finally capture the Avatar Cat at last. He couldn't remember the last time he had captured him like this. Bearclaw gave a snort of triumph, for he had beaten Thornflare and he would show Darkstar what a good warrior he could be.

_I got him at last..._

_To be continued..._

**...**

**AvatarCat12: Wow. This is getting all intense!**

**Sokka: And I still can't believe Hahn said all that stuff about Yue and me!**

**Katara: I knew Hahn was mad about something after Yue died. But it's not your fault, Sokka.**

**Holly: Besides, Hahn just wanted to marry her so that he'd be the next chief. Is that true?**

**Sokka: Yeah.**

**AvatarCat12: Enough of what that mouse-brain was thinking. Let's go on with the preview for Siege On WaterClan: Power Of StarClan.**

**Preview: The great battle for WaterClan takes an extreme when Thornflare discovers the weakness of the WaterBenders. Goldpaw continues his journey in StarClan, and his friends continue searching for him and Bearclaw. Will WaterClan survive?**

**To remind everyone, I guess I can present some rewards back at the end of PARTICULAR chapters. But for now, just review, all right? Flames are NOT allowed on this story or any other of my stories. Constructive criticism is allowed in this story and other stories of mine, but as long as it's not harsh, then it's okay.**

**Everyone: See ya next time!**


	22. Power Of StarClan

**AvatarCat12: This is it! This is the final episode of the first season of the Avatar Cat remake!**

**Katara: But what about the epilogue?**

**AvatarCat12: I'm getting to that.**

**Holly: Can you try and finish season 2?**

**AvatarCat12: I'll try.**

**Sokka: And can I say the disclaimer and summary thing?**

**AvatarCat12: Sure.**

**Disclaimer: AvatarCat12 owns nothing on here. He doesn't even own the two songs on this chapter; they're called "Great Spirits" and "Transformation", owned by Disney for the movie Brother Bear.**

**Summary: ****The great battle for WaterClan takes an extreme when Thornflare discovers the weakness of the WaterBenders. Goldpaw continues his journey in StarClan, and his friends continue searching for him and Bearclaw. Will WaterClan survive?**

**Updating Date: January 25, 2012**

**Everyone: Enjoy!**

**...**

_Siege On WaterClan: Power of StarClan_

It was finally dawn. The battle for the survival of the Northern WaterClan had begun.

Four massive fireballs shot over the city walls and into the large city below. Those fiery balls of destruction landed at some points in the city and exploded at different times, making the scared inhabitants scream in fear and the warriors screech in anger.

**...**

Back at the Moonpond, Silverpaw was telling Ashpaw and Moonfeather about her fight against Bearclaw; she even told them of how he knocked her out and stole Goldpaw. When she finished, she hung her head in shame.

"I-I can't believe I lost him! I let him down! I-it's all my fault!" Silverpaw choked with sadness. Then, with her blue eyes filled with tears and her shoulder stopped bleeding, she began crying with sorrow.

"Silverpaw!" Ashpaw meowed so sternly that she looked up at her littermate through teary eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you? It's not your fault! You did everything you could to save Goldpaw, and now we gotta save _him_!"

When Silverpaw didn't reply, the dark gray tabby tom led Moonfeather to Archie and meowed more gently, "Look. That damn Bearclaw couldn't have gone too far from here, but we'll find him and bring Goldpaw back. He'll be okay."

Feeling a bit more cheerful but still upset at losing her friend, the silver she-cat saw that it wasn't her fault at all. Anything could have happened while she was unconscious. She got up and wiped the tears away from her eyes with her front paws.

"Okay. I'm coming." She padded past Tobias, who was looking over at the pond and cawing sadly like a lost dove in the rain. He turned to stare at her with eyes that were unreadable for a cat but were probably sad for a hawk. "I'll be okay, Tobias. You stay here if Goldpaw comes back. And DON'T eat those fish while we're away."

Tobias seemed to give her a nod and flew up on top of one of the palm trees.

Ashpaw gave him a purr while Silverpaw and Moonfeather sat at either side of him on Archie's head. Then he looked down to Archie and meowed, "Yip yip, Archie."

With a roar of determination, Archie launched himself into the air and out of the Moonpond area into the frozen snowing wilderness above. He began flying over the ice dunes, the snow coming down hard from the dark, gray sky. The three cats were determined to save the Avatar Cat, no matter the cost.

**...**

The snowstorm blew hard into Bearclaw's face, stinging his eyes, as he dragged the Avatar Cat through the harsh snow. He hadn't had much to eat, yet the Arctic tern was just enough to make his belly satisfied, but that didn't matter. He had finally achieved his goal, and he was going to make sure Thornflare didn't find out.

The dark brown tabby cat couldn't wait to see the look on the deputy's face when he would get reduced in rank from his position; he, Bearclaw himself, would have the position as the deputy at long last. Irontail would be welcomed back as well and be rewarded with having the rich life that an elder deserved to have.

_I can't wait for that to happen! My honor will be restored!_

Bearclaw knew that the Avatar Cat's arrow stripes were glowing pure white. He was still in the territory of his ancestors, but he had no idea what was going on.

**...**

_When the Earth was young, and the air was sweet,_

_And the mountains kissed the sky,_

_In the far beyond, with its many paths,_

_Man and nature lived side by side._

Goldpaw woke up with a start, his fur drenched with water. All around him, the scenery was a thick bamboo swamp, and he was lying down on a platform in the water. Goldpaw could see a large white stork fly off and give an alarmed call, stars glittering in its wings when it took off. Around him, prey was running abundantly as if the ground itself was completely filled with prey and leaking frequently.

This was the territory between StarClan and the Dark Forest.

The Avatar Cat turned around to look behind him; behind him was a small island. A temple-like structure, like the one behind the Moonpond in the WaterClan camp but wider and rougher, was resting on top of the small island. Under the bar of the structure, a figure stood and looked up to the sky.

"_Give me a hot coal glowing bright red, give me an ember sizzling with heat. These are the jewels made for my beak,"_ a voice was chanting. Goldpaw could tell this figure was a bird.

Goldpaw leaped into the water and swam up to the figure on the cross bar in the water. When he got close, he could see that it was an owl...a male Great Horned Owl, by the looks of it. He was pointing his beak into the sky and chanting with his eyes closed. But he had stopped when the young cat climbed onto the rock and shook the water out of his fur and onto his feathers.

"Um...excuse me?" Goldpaw meowed, but the owl didn't open his eyes. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but I came to StarClan so I can find the two children of Water, founder of WaterClan."

The owl spoke with his eyes still closed, "Go...away." But when another wasted moment passed by, the owl opened one sharp amber eye and hooted, "Are you still here, cat?"

Goldpaw decided to make this fast, so he meowed quickly, "Yes, but I need-"

But the owl closed his eye quick and tight as if he didn't want to see the golden cat. Then he hooted loudly, _"We fly between flames and never get singed, we plunge through the smoke and never cringe!"_

Suddenly, a bright light making a slight clear sound made Goldpaw forget his anger at the owl; he looked on as it twirled around his head. With a curious look, Goldpaw reached up and took a swipe at it, but it flew off before he could catch it.

Without opening his eyes, the Great Horned Owl spoke, "Maybe that bright light can help you?"

Muttering a thank-you to StarClan, Goldpaw leaped off the flat rock and started leaping after it. While he wasn't looking, the owl kept his amber eyes shut for a second more, then opened one to confirm Goldpaw's departure. He shook his great sharp head.

"Finally!" he sighed.

**...**

_Great wisdom doesn't come without learning_

_And we vision not only with our eyes._

_We can think that we see,_

_Truly see all around us,_

_But when we look, do we see with open minds?_

Goldpaw panted hard, chasing the little sphere of light around the swamp despite it being faster than him. He chased it up a large oak tree and out onto a large branch, quickly as light. He leaped at it and slammed his paws down on it, a huge smile on his face. He let out a yowl of triumph as his front paws covered the sphere.

But suddenly, as he did so, the tree branch melted beneath him and he fell, yowling, to the water below, landing with a splash. As he laid there in the water, feeling dazed, the small ball of bright light flew out of his paws and got away from him. Goldpaw yowled for the retreating ball of light to stop.

The small ball didn't slow down, so Goldpaw gave a sigh, got to his paws, and leaped away after it. But he didn't get that far, for something lapped around his paws; he looked down in surprise. As the ripples from the splatter dissolved, an image of a white cat formed from where his own reflection should be. It was Avatar Cat Whitestorm.

_Great Spirits of all who lived before,_

_Take our hands and lead us._

_Fill our hearts and souls with all you know._

"Greetings, Goldpaw," the white tom purred, dipping his head to him.

Goldpaw shook his head as if he couldn't believe his eyes. What was the former Avatar Cat doing between StarClan and the Dark Forest? "W-Whitestorm!"

_The key to understanding is to see through others' eyes._

_Find a way to help us and see from all sides._

_Truly see from all sides._

**...**

As Bearclaw looked up from the Arctic tern he was trying to hunt, he almost expected the Avatar Cat to wake up, get up, and run off into the blizzard as fast as he could. But the golden cat was still lying there as if he were dead...except for the glowing arrows.

_I need to hurry before time runs out._

Suddenly, the ice underneath Bearclaw's paws began to crack and cave in. Within a few seconds, most of the ground around him was collapsing. Feeling frightened, he went over to the Avatar Cat, grabbed his neck fur in his teeth, and began pulling away as fast as he could. He managed to keep just ahead of the yawning hole that his pawsteps over thin ice have caused to appear.

To his relief, the hole finally stopped expanding, but Bearclaw tripped and fell almost off the edge. They were now on the edge of a newly-formed canyon. He looked ahead to see a rock ledge overhanging a small cave.

"Shelter!" Bearclaw gasped. "I can hide here until this storm dies down."

He managed to inch his way down the canyon and, with the Avatar Cat in his jaws, managed to claw a hole in a block of ice. With that done, he dropped the golden apprentice to the ground in the back of the cave, dug a hole, and dropped him in the hole until only his head was showing. Bearclaw was going to give his fresh-kill to him, but he'd have to wait until he woke up...if he didn't have to run.

**...**

_Teach our children to look deep beneath the surface,_

_And see our world through another's eyes._

_For to be blind beyond yourself is to look but not see it._

_Knowing much is not enough to be wise._

Goldpaw reached out his paw to jab a little at the image of Whitestorm in the water. He could hardly believe the former Avatar Cat was here in this swampy place. But he shook his head and decided to go ahead and ask him for his help.

"Whitestorm, I need your help," the young golden AirBender mewed to his predecessor. "The Northern WaterClan is being attacked by an entire platoon of FireClan cats! I need to find the children of Water, the WaterClan founder. Their names are Sedna and Tatkresiwok, the spirits of the Ocean and the Moon. Where are they?"

Suddenly, the water started churning beneath his paws, becoming a bright red, as red as a ripe apple. The waves under his feet sprung up like a bird flying toward the sun, and Whitestorm padded out from within the whirlpool. His pure white pelt was sparkling with stars and his golden eyes were filled some kind of dark knowledge beneath them.

_To see the wonder in all we've been given_

_In a world that's not always as it seems._

_On the part that we choose_

_Turn every corner._

_Follow on, for another begins._

"Tatkresiwok and Sedna are powerful and ancient spirits," Whitestorm began to meow. "When the new Clans were going to be formed, those two had crossed over into StarClan and let _their_ children spread around to be WaterBenders. But there is one spirit that remembers it all. But be careful," he went on, his fur bristling a little. "This spirit will be in the Dark Forest, the Place of No Stars. Once you enter, there could be some trouble coming back here or into the real world. Unless you go with a StarClan cat, you're on your own to find your way out."

Goldpaw tilted his head to one side and asked, "Who is it?" No matter how hard the mission, he was determined to get the answer back to the real world.

Whitestorm shivered a bit and murmured, "His name is Hok, but many cats, dead or alive, call him 'Face-catcher.' And when you _do_ meet him, do not show any emotion on your face...show no hint of joy, sorrow, or anger. One slip-up with the emotions and...he'll steal your face!"

Goldpaw couldn't help but shiver himself as he heard of this spirit. He imagined that Hok would be a giant cat the size of a Tyrannosaurus; he wasn't looking forward to a fight. But Goldpaw knew that he couldn't let his fear get in his way, so he planted his claws into the ground to hide his fear. He nodded to Whitestorm stoically as the white cat disappeared in a swirl of stars.

_Great Spirits of all who lived before,_

_Take our hands and lead us._

_Fill our hearts and souls with all you know._

_The key to understanding is to see through others' eyes._

_Find a way to help us and see from all sides._

_Truly see from all sides._

**...**

Ashpaw looked around the sky in the icy tundra and tried to breathe in a recognizable scent to find Goldpaw. Archie had been traveling around in the snow, circled around impatiently, and let out a roar of sorrow while the three cats looked around from on his saddle. But a little sniff of sadness made the dark gray tabby tom turn his head around to see who it was.

Silverpaw was sitting a little bit away from the two other cats, her dark blue eyes filled with fear and concern, her whiskers blowing in the strong wind. She lowered her head, possibly fearing the worst to come.

Ashpaw felt very sorry for her. He himself couldn't stand to see his littermate upset, especially after she was burned. But it was now time to look after Goldpaw, who was like a brother to him already.

"Yip yip," Ashpaw meowed to Archie. The Asian Lung Dragon lifted himself into the air and flew off toward the dark gray sky.

**...**

Making sure that the golden Avatar Cat didn't freeze to death, Bearclaw had built a fire right near him so he would get warm. He let out a jet of small flames to warm up his paw pads, for they were freezing, and the exposed skin had become blue. He looked over at the unconscious Avatar Cat, whose arrow stripes were still glowing, and padded over to the entrance of the shelter.

"I finally got you in my paws. But I can't get you back to FireClan until this damn blizzard is done," he murmured, looking upwards to the snowy sky.

He gave a sigh and went on, "You know what? There's always something. Not that you'd know. You're like my sister; her name is Frostfire. Everything was always easy when it came to her. She's a FireBending miracle...and everyone loves her." He paused to spit bitterly before going on, "Darkstar says Frostfire was born lucky, but he said I was just lucky to be born."

Bearclaw paused again, this time to sink his claws into the snow. "But no matter what happens to us out here, I don't need luck. I don't want it. All through my life, I've tried to struggle and fight, and that's what made me strong. It's made me the cat I am today."

**...**

Back at the Northern WaterClan city, FireClan was landing a direct assault on the city below. A line of FireClan ships adjoined to the outer wall, which continued launching fireballs deep into the unoccupied portions of the city. The invaders had already penetrated the outer wall with infantry and armor. WaterClan was still holding one of the towers nearby, but it was clear the defenders were slowly losing this battle.

Soon enough, a couple FireClan war Komodo Dragons, each with small catapults on either side of its saddle, plodded forward. One after the other, the FireBending warriors on the large lizards fired their catapults.

The minor wall was holding up, a thin trench of water in front of it. There were a few defenders, however, and a deadly rain of fireballs entered the area, spreading destruction deep inside the city and killing a few cats nearby. Rank upon rank of FireClan tanks have arrived, firing as they advance toward the secondary wall.

The defenders came together atop the secondary wall, where a long line of WaterBending cats returned fire. Right under the top of the wall was a line of apertures through which water poured into the moat below. The WaterBenders motion in unison and the gentle streams become mighty jets of water. Two tanks are washed away, but several others behind them fire massive grappling hooks into the secondary wall.

The hooks penetrated the wall clear through to the other side as the WaterClan cats scattered from left to right. The huge tanks with the grappling hooks then began to reel back on the lines. The tanks were anchored in the ice to prevent the tank from just hauling itself to the wall. The wall cracked steadily yet slowly, and then it gave way as more fireballs flew overhead. A huge breach was now opened, revealing a war Komodo Dragon and other infantry all ready to pour through.

At the third wall, three more tanks on the left pulled down large sections of the inferior wall. The space in between the main and minor walls was brimming with FireClan cats, all of them with tanks and rhinoceros. Many fireballs have already landed in the inhabited section beyond and parts of the city were on fire.

**...**

Back at the main flagship and the other ships, Thornflare was breathing with anticipation while Irontail lashed his tail in a worried way. The WaterClan cats were putting up quite a fight, he had to give them that, but they needed to finish the battle as quickly as they could.

"I don't think I need to remind you why we have a time limit," Irontail told his deputy. The two cats were standing side-by-side on the bridge's observation deck. "If we don't defeat WaterClan before the full moon rises, they will be unstoppable."

Thornflare sneered with his eyes glowing excitedly and his smile spread evilly. "I advise you not to worry, Irontail. I have everything under my control. I have it in mind to go ahead and take out the moon as a factor."

Irontail shook his head, his whiskers and fur bristling in the icy wind. Had Thornflare already found a way to win the battle? "Take out the moon? How?"

"Tornface!" Irontail and Thornflare turned around to see a ginger tabby tom, who was stalking toward them, his amber eyes gleaming and his fur ruffling from the strong gale. "Prepare to die!"

At that, the young WaterClan warrior leaped at Thornflare with his teeth bared and his claws unsheathed. But when he got to him, the FireClan deputy just seized him by the throat, took the struggling cat over to the side of the ship, and threw him overboard. As the cat screeched with terror as he fell, Irontail looked down, gave a sigh, and faced his deputy.

"Anyways," the dark brown tomcat meowed, ignoring the pitiful assassination, "moons ago, I stumbled upon a great and powerful secret. The identity of the Moon Spirit's mortal form."

"What?" Irontail gasped, feeling shocked.

Thornflare closed his eyes as if he was remembering something, but there was a cruel smile on his face. "I was a young warrior; I was serving under a FireClan senior warrior named Nightclaw in EarthClan. I had already discovered a hidden library; in reality, it was an underground library, mind you. I tore through scroll after scroll and, finally, one of them held a full illustration and the words 'moon' and 'ocean'. I knew then that these spirits could be found...and killed. And it was my destiny to do so."

Irontail couldn't believe it; Thornflare was plotting to kill the two Spirits! Fear and surprise now turned to rage at the thought of this unforgiveable act. Right before Thornflare could pad away, he leaped forward and planted himself in front of the stumpy-tailed cat. This was one act he had to keep from coming true, even if he died during the attack.

The fat gray tabby tom snarled angrily, "Thornflare, you cannot kill those two spirits! They and the spirits of StarClan must not be trifled with!"

"Yes, yes, I know you fear StarClan," Thornflare retorted disdainfully, as if he had never heard of StarClan. "I've even heard rumors about your journey into StarClan's territory. But those two, Ocean and Moon, already gave up their immortality to be a part of our world...and now they will pay the price. They _shall_ face the consequences!"

There was no more Irontail could do for now but to stare ahead. He knew that StarClan couldn't directly interact with living cats, but he knew that the evil Dark Forest cats could cross into one's mind. But Irontail believed that Thornflare would get his just reward in the end...in a justified way.

**...**

Already, Goldpaw was out of breath as he leaped across the top of a line of wooden pylons on his way to a huge gnarled tree in the far distance. The tree was partially silhouetted by a dark purple and some kind of glowing fungus was attached to the base of the trunk. He was finally in the Dark Forest, a place of tall trees and unending darkness, but he kept his senses prepared if Tigerstar or a Dark Forest cat leaped out at him.

Goldpaw froze and leaped out of the way as a gigantic wolf or other dog-like creature passed by him and went around behind the tree; it was the size of a small mountain. Telling himself to not be afraid, Goldpaw finished his approach to the base of the tree. There, a dark hole yawned at him at the base of the tree. Feeling rather scared, Goldpaw padded towards the hole fearfully.

_Don't be scared! You'll pull through! _he told himself.

Right before he got near the hole, a sudden caw made him freeze, and a rush of wings blurred his vision. When he looked up, he saw a black bird flutter down and sit in front of it, facing the other direction. Goldpaw gave a sigh of relief; even though ravens and crows were thought to be bad omens of death, they weren't that scary...but they were highly annoying.

"Whew!" Goldpaw sighed with relief. "You're just a raven!"

The raven turned around to face him and what Goldpaw saw next made him sink his claws into the dirt and feel frightened. The raven was now facing him...but it had no face.

Goldpaw finally wrenched his claws from the ground and leaped away from the black bird, his pelt shaking. He thought of running back to StarClan and getting his answers from there. But Whitestorm told him he could not show fear; besides, he couldn't leave the Dark Forest until he got to Hok and asked for advice.

So Goldpaw dropped all emotions from his face and took a deep breath. As he breathed heavily a little, he spoke, but Whitestorm's voice was mingled with his. They were both mewing, "_Show no fear. Show no emotions._"

With a final reassured breath, Goldpaw padded down into the hole, ignoring the raven silently and gloomily fluttering right behind him. He tried to ignore a pair of sharp amber eyes glaring at him from within the branches above.

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Trying hard to not gulp with fear, Goldpaw leaped into the hole and began padding down the dark path. Hok had to be around here somewhere in this tree trunk. The lair opening was still seen above, light pouring in through it. The lair was dark, though not the pitch black scene at the entrance. Roots stuck out from the ceiling, but no creature stirred and no prey scuttled.

"Hello?" Goldpaw called to the darkness. "I'm looking for a spirit named Hok."

But when Goldpaw said the dark spirit's name, the "roots" on the ceiling began to shift. Instantly, the golden cat turned to see what was going on, but there was nothing there. Then, suddenly, a white face appeared, with gray patches around its eyes and moist blood-colored lips. The face was distantly clown-like in appearance. The creature smiled very ominously at him and Goldpaw tried not to arch his back with fright, for he was ready.

_Let's do this!_

But the next part of the creature made him recoil...but just a little. Suddenly, a huge spider-like body crept around Goldpaw and appeared in front of his face. The white clown-like face of Hok was kit-lengths away from Goldpaw's face, who tried not to flinch. Around the spirit's face were eight legs that were firmly attached to a centipede-like body.

"Welcome, visitor!" Hok hissed to him, hanging from the ceiling in front of him. His voice was low and melodic, almost purring, and his voice spelled danger.

Goldpaw nodded back in a gesture of honor, but he wasn't going to let the "Face-catcher" see any emotion on his face. "Thank you."

The monster dropped a little from the ceiling and circled around him, his wicked intelligent eyes glittering with hunger. "My old friend, the Avatar Cat, has come for a visit. It's been a while."

"Wait...you know me?"

"Ah, how could I forget?" Hok replied rhetorically as he turned away from him.

But suddenly, to Goldpaw's mild surprise, Hok's face swung around and changed from the clown mask to the face of a middle-aged black-&-white tom. This change occurred while winking, as if some sort of nictating eyelid or membrane closed briefly over the old face to reveal a new one. It slightly creeped Goldpaw out, but he remembered to show no emotions.

Then he screeched, "_One incarnation of yours tried to kill me!_ It happened either a hundred and fourteen years ago or a hundred and twenty-eight years ago!"

Goldpaw just stared back with no emotion on his face as he stared right into his eyes. He replied, "Oh. I didn't know that. But why did he...or I...try to kill you?"

"Ah..." Hok hissed, his face changing to that of a beautiful longhaired tortoiseshell she-cat. "It was something about stealing the face of someone you loved." The face changed to the raven's face as Hok began laughing nastily. "That's all behind us now, eh? Why should I be angry at you for something that's done and over with? After all, you're a different cat now."

Sticking his eerie raven face up to Goldpaw's ear from behind him, he rasped, "And now...you've come to me with a new face."

Goldpaw gave a quick sigh and closed his eyes; he was very determined to try and not give way under the pressure. One slip up... _...and he'll steal your face! _Whitestorm's voice echoed in his mind as if he was in an empty cave...but he was already in an empty cave.

**...**

Bearclaw took a bite out of the trapped baby seal he had caught. It tasted too fatty for him, and it tasted more foreign than squirrels or mice, but it was better than nothing. Deciding that he should leave something for the unconscious Avatar Cat, he picked up the rest of the seal carcass and dragged it over to him. He was still buried up to his head in the snow.

"Here's some fresh-kill when you wake up," he told him, setting the seal down beside his head. "I guess we'll be here for quite a while."

Without much more to say, he stalked over to the entrance of the cave and curled up, staring out into the blizzard. There was no other way to get out unless someone could rescue them both. He hoped Thornflare wouldn't rescue them just to kill him and take the Avatar Cat.

**...**

As Archie flew over the frozen tundra, the weather turned harsher than the one in the Southern WaterClan. The three cats were sitting on top of the dragon; they were sniffing the air and calling Goldpaw's name. But so far, there was no success, and there was no hint of pawprints.

"Don't worry!" Moonfeather mewed to the siblings. "Bearclaw won't get far in this weather!"

"But I'm not worried they'll get away," Silverpaw sighed, lowering her eyes. "I'm worried they won't be _around_ here."

Ashpaw turned to his sister, padded over to her, and licked her ear reassuringly. He whispered to her, "Silverpaw, don't worry! Those two won't freeze to death in this snowstorm. If we know anything about Bearclaw, he never gives up. They WILL survive...and we WILL find them!"

**...**

As Hok continued to circle the young golden Avatar Cat, Goldpaw kept turning around to match the pacing of the strange spider-like or scorpion-like creature in front of him. He wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of showing any triumph at seeing any bit of emotion on his face.

"Ah...it's been moons since I added a kit's face to my collection of faces," Hok hissed, circling around him still. As his face changed to one of a fox, he went on, "So...how may I help you?" During the chat, Hok continued wrapping his long body around the young apprentice, making endless circles.

Goldpaw took a step forward and mewed, "I need to find the Moon and Ocean Spirits, the two children of Water."

Hok gave him a surprised look, but the fox face went back to its sneer as he went on, "Ah...so you wish to find Tatkresiwok and Sedna? Push and Pull? Yin and Yang? Since the beginning of the world, even before the Twolegs were born, that is the nature of their very relationship."

"Yes, that's them," Goldpaw mewed as he nodded to the giant creature in front of him. "Please, Hok. I need your help in finding those two. If I don't get help from them, another Clan will be wiped out forever."

"Oh...you need their help?" Hok sneered, flipping his face around to that of a black cat. "But I believe it's the other way around! Someone's trying to kill _them_!" he screeched, shoving his face, now like a Jersey Devil, a few kit-lengths near his face.

Goldpaw needed a break, so he sat down, closed his eyes, and began to think the whole situation over. The Moon and Ocean Spirits needed his help? HIS help? But last time he remembered, _he_ needed _their_ help. But what could he do to help the two StarClan spirits? And where in the name of StarClan were they?

Goldpaw shook his head, opened his eyes, and meowed, "But what the hell-sorry," he muttered, not wanting to curse around him.

Hok just nodded his Jersey Devil snout and said, "Don't worry, my friend. I'm not all that formal around the Dark Forest."

"Oh. Anyways...what the hell do you mean? How do I find them? If I do find them, how can I protect them?"

"You've met them already," Hok replied, switching his face back to his original clown-like face. "Remember? At the Moonpond?"

When Goldpaw still felt confused, the Face-catcher went on, "Tatkresiwok and Sedna are your Moon and Ocean, and they have always circled each other in an eternal dance. They balance each other very well. Push and pull, life and death, good and evil...yin and yang."

As the giant monster reared up to gaze at his face again, Goldpaw wondered, _Push and pull, life and death, good and evil...yin and yang? What the hell does that even mean?_

But suddenly, it struck him right there like a tree branch falling onto his head. A sudden charge of memories rushed into his head as he remembered resting by the Moonpond. The two carp, one black and one white, had been circling around each other. He could even see them turning into the Yin and Yang symbol right before he entered StarClan's territory.

_To see the wonder in all we've been given_

_In a world that's not always as it seems._

_On the part that we choose, turn every corner._

_Follow on, for another begins._

Finally knowing where the spirits were at now, he yelped happily, "The spirits are the carp at the Moonpond! I found them!"

Remembering in time to hide his emotions because Hok was turning around, Goldpaw hid his emotions. Just in time, Hok whirled around with his face turning into that of the Jersey Devil and shoved his face in front of the Avatar Cat. He looked as if he was getting a chance to snatch his face, but there was no luck. Goldpaw had managed to hide his emotions well.

"Thank you for your help. I'll be going now," he mewed.

Hok nodded while flipping his face over to that of a brown tabby cat. "Oh, anytime, Avatar Cat. Anytime. We'll meet again, I'm sure of that." At this, the large spider-like monster receded into the shadows and Goldpaw managed to climb back out of the hole.

Goldpaw managed to get back to the outside of the knotted very old tree, but now he knew the answers about this problem. Without any Dark Forest cats to stop him, he was able to get to the territory between StarClan and the Dark Forest.

When he arrived into that swampy area, he had leaped into the water and stared into the water. Whitestorm had replaced his reflection, looking up at him with a powerful look in his golden eyes. His white fur was no longer ruffling with fear.

_Great Spirits of all that lived before,_

_Take our hands and lead us._

_Fill our hearts and souls with all you know._

"Whitestorm!" Goldpaw called out to him straight away. "Tatkresiwok and Sedna are in critical danger! I need help in getting back to the real world!"

"A friend of yours shall be able to show you the way," Whitestorm's voice echoed before the reflection faded away. Immediately, Goldpaw could hear a rustling behind him, and he whirled around to defend himself.

But the creature that appeared before him made his fur relax and made him purr with relief. In front of him was a medium-sized black bear with warm brown eyes staring down at him with gentleness. The large bear had come from the bamboo and bramble bushes, and he seemed to have heard the entire conversation.

"Kuan-Yin!" Goldpaw purred gleefully.

The black bear replied by licking his face in a friendly way. This was the same spirit that ravaged a village in the form of a Tyrannosaurus because he lost his forest home. But it seemed that, after Goldpaw promised that the forest would grow again someday, he was being in StarClan.

When Goldpaw told the black bear about what was happening, Kuan-Yin lowered himself gently to the ground to his belly. He allowed the Avatar Cat to climb on board and sink his claws into a clump of fur. When he was firmly holding on, the spirit bear let out a roar and leaped off through the swamp back to where Goldpaw came into StarClan.

_Just as long as we don't see that owl, it'll be okay!_

_The key to understanding is to see through each other's eyes._

_Find a way to help us and see from all sides._

_Truly see from all sides._

**...**

Nightfall had arrived, but the FireClan assault on WaterClan continued unabated. Fireballs were now blasting the inhabited section in front of the bastion, which was protected by the third and final wall. The secondary wall was fully destroyed now, and FireClan warriors and tanks were pouring through. WaterClan queens, kits, and elders fled through the smoking streets as tanks smashed through everything in their path.

The massive full moon was now rising behind the FireClan attack armada. Drawing strength from the full moon, the defenders managed to create an unmerciful counterattack. A group of FireClan cats cornered a WaterBender cat on a foot bridge over a canal, but the gray tom broke the ice bridge and sent the soldiers flying while breaking the last one's neck.

There was a tank chasing a WaterBending cat, who turned around and melted the ice under the tank. It sunk as the WaterBenders damaged the tank with a powerful jet of water, drowning the driver. Now there were a lot of defenders atop the third and final wall. In unison, they fired ice many daggers at a line of FireClan warriors below; many blocked them with their shields while others were stabbed in their throats.

Finally, Snowstorm was fighting three tanks alone, which were supported by three infantry platoons. _For Rainbreeze! For WaterClan! For the world!_

Exercising his mastery, he cut the treads off all three tanks with jets of ice. As he crippled their FireClan armor, the infantry closed in around him. With a motion with his tail, he raised them up and encased them all in ice. Then, gathering all his power, he raised a water cyclone, much like Goldpaw had used moons ago. Snowstorm rode around at the peak of the cyclone as he brushed aside both fire bolts and FireClan. He was truly the ultimate WaterBender.

There was already another group of WaterBenders who raised up a tank on a block of ice and threw it at a group of FireClan cats on Komodo Dragons. Some were killed by the falling tank while others had received broken legs.

**...**

Thornflare sneered at the battle as he observed the environment, a dark gray warrior able to be seen over his right shoulder. The dark gray cat got covered in snow from the impact of the tank that was just thrown, but the guard heated the snow up and it melted off him in a cloud of steam.

"According to this map," the FireClan deputy meowed while looking around him, "we're getting near this so-called Moonpond. And when we get there..." Thornflare looked up at the full moon, his amber eyes glowing dangerously and a cruel smile spreading across his face "...we shall put RiverClan's fabled fishing skills to the test!"

**...**

Back in between StarClan and the Dark Forest, Goldpaw and Kuan-Yin were traveling through the swamp for quite a while. Finally, they arrived at the place where Goldpaw first entered this place and the cranky Great Horned Owl was still chanting his coal-collecting song. As Goldpaw leaped down from his mount, he looked up at him.

"All right, Kuan-Yin, this is the area where I came from to get here." He leapt onto the platform underneath the paifang and looked up at his spirit friend again. "But...how do I get back?"

In response, Kuan-Yin roared, reared up onto his hind legs, and breathed a familiar pulse of blue spiritual energy out of his mouth at Goldpaw. The young golden cat froze a little, surrounded by the energy and vanished. But before he completely disappeared, he saw the owl open one amber eye and glance in his direction.

"Finally! Good riddance!" the owl huffed.

He had probably insulted the Avatar Cat, for Kuan-Yin transformed into his Tyrannosaurus form and roared into the nocturnal bird's face, releasing the same blue energy and blowing him into the water. After that, he turned into a bear again and clapped his paws together in amusement at seeing the owl shake his feathers and mutter angrily.

**...**

Finally, Goldpaw gave a yawn and woke up. With a long stretch, he looked around him and saw that he was back at the Moonpond, and Tobias was looking around. Goldpaw gave a purr and padded forward to give the drowsy hawk a lick on the head, but suddenly, he gasped. His tongue passed right through his head.

"What the...?" Goldpaw rasped, but he saw the problem: his fur was glittering with stars and he had a blue aura around him. He was still in StarClan's territory, but his body wasn't at the spot anymore.

"Fox-dung! Where'd my body go?"

He looked around frantically, hoping he could receive help. He stopped as a blue ball of energy formed around him, and he was lifted by it right out of the sanctuary gorge and out into the harsh tundra above. Like a comet, he flew over the frozen landscape. He looked down at the tundra, happy to be seen by Silverpaw while flying over them.

"Guys! Up there!" she was yowling, pointing her muzzle to the gray sky. "I think it's Goldpaw!" As if speaking a silent agreement, Ashpaw flipped Archie's reigns to fly and follow the great spirit comet.

They and Goldpaw quickly arrived at the cave where Goldpaw's unconscious body and Bearclaw had taken refuge. The comet entered the cave, briefly illuminating it from inside and flew into Goldpaw's body, making him wake up and look around. Now ready for a battle before saving the spirits, Goldpaw wriggled out of the snow and faced Bearclaw.

The dark brown tabby tom faced him also, growling, "Welcome back, Avatar Cat."

Goldpaw nodded as his arrows stopped glowing. "It's good to _be_ back!"

With a battle yowl, he rushed forward and pushed Bearclaw out of the way with his head. He gave a short laugh before dashing out into the snow outside. It was much colder than it was at the Moonpond, but he had to escape from the FireClan warrior. Feeling a bit tired from the spiritual journey, he tried to crawl away, but Bearclaw grabbed his neck and slammed him down.

"Oh no you don't, you little shit!" the dark tabby hissed, dragging him back to the hole. He had a rope draped around his head, perhaps going to use it to tie him up.

All of a sudden, a loud roar was heard over the two cats' heads as Archie flew down at them. The Asian Lung Dragon was roaring angrily and lashing his long whip-like tail. As Goldpaw gave a yowl of relief when Archie landed, Bearclaw released him and faced Silverpaw. The silver she-cat had leaped down from Archie's saddle and faced him, her winter coat bristling.

Bearclaw unsheathed his long sharp claws and growled at her, "So are you back for a rematch?"

"Trust me, mouse-heart," Silverpaw retorted, extracting her claws, "it won't be much of a match."

While Ashpaw and Moonfeather joined up with them, Bearclaw launched a large fireball at the silver she-cat, but she leaped to one side, their fur ruffling in the blizzard. She sent a great big shockwave of ice hurtling towards him. When it reached Bearclaw, she encased him in a pillar of ice she raised up high and then dropped to the snow. The dark brown tabby tom fell to the snow, unconscious with a trickle of warm blood dripping from his head.

Ashpaw left Moonfeather's side and rushed over to Bearclaw's comatose body and took the rope from him. "Great StarClan! This looks like a good rope!" he purred, putting it in his bag.

Remembering what to do, Goldpaw felt ] dread fill his body faster than the icy wind. _What's threatening those spirits? Will we get back there in time? We have to get back before that threat gets there first!_

"Guys, the Moon and Ocean Spirits are in terrible danger!" he told the three WaterClan cats. "We have to get back to the Moonpond\! We don't have a moment to lose!"

He got up to his paws steadily and rushed over to Archie, with Ashpaw and the two she-cats behind him, now ready to leave. But when Goldpaw got Archie's reins, he noticed Bearclaw's unconscious body lying frozen in the snow. He couldn't leave him there to die; it wasn't in his nature. No matter what he did in the past, Bearclaw was another cat to be saved.

Goldpaw leaped down and, ignoring Ashpaw's protesting, padded to the dark brown tabby cat. "We won't leave him here to freeze."

"Of course we can!" Ashpaw retorted, joining up with him. "Now let's go!"

"Not until we take him along," Goldpaw retorted. "If he's frozen for too long, he could _die_ in his sleep! I don't want to be a murderer!"

Together, the two toms bent their heads, rolled Bearclaw onto their shoulders, and padded over to Archie. There, Moonfeather and Silverpaw reached down and grabbed his scruff, pulling him up. Bearclaw seemed to be quite a heavy cat, but it was mainly all muscle.

While they settled Bearclaw into the dragon's saddle, Ashpaw rolled his eyes and muttered sarcastically, "I guess that makes sense: taking along the asshole trying to kill us!"

Ignoring Ashpaw, Goldpaw got back to Archie's reins and gave the command to go; Archie roared and lifted himself into the air, ready to get back to the city in time. Goldpaw knew that they needed to get back in time before the threat would try and kill the Ocean and Moon Spirits. Whoever was doing this would never ever be forgiven by StarClan.

**...**

Thornflare padded into the Moonpond area and stared over the two fish circling around the pond. He knew his time of triumph had arrived; he knew that murdering Webclaw, the former FireClan deputy, was very much worth it. He was getting near his goal.

With a swift move (which was great for a FireClan cat), Thornflare plunged one forepaw into the pond and sunk his claws into the scales of a fish. The fish he caught was the white carp with the black spot while the black carp with the white spot swam around frantically. He threw the white fish onto the ground and pinned it there.

The moon, visible behind him over his left shoulder, became a blood red while the fish struggled on the ground. His evil plan was unfolding at last.

_Finally! I have won! I dominate StarClan NOW!_

**...**

_**Commercial Break**_

**...**

Snowstorm still was on his water tornado as hot sticky blood trickled from his shoulder and onto the white snow. Suddenly, the world around him glowed dark red, and he thought he was on his last legs, but he heard a cat yowl in fear. Snowstorm looked up and gasped with shock; the moon was now a blood red, for the Moon Spirit was in danger.

To his horror, the water tornado collapsed and he fell to the snow below. Snowstorm heard a yowl of fear and turned to see another WaterBending cat's water move grow faint. The Komodo Dragon being washed away by the WaterBending move broke through the wave and crushed the cat with its toxic bite. Now the FireClan cats, who were once losing and losing their cats, were now winning and killing WaterClan cats.

_StarClan! Have you abandoned us? Help us all!_

**...**

While Archie flew through the night sky, Goldpaw watched with horror as the full white moon ahead of them turned as dark red as blood. It looked as if he was too late, but the moon hadn't blinked out yet; there could be a chance to still help.

Suddenly, Moonfeather gave a small groan and fell a little onto the saddle, breathing hard. Even though she hadn't run a lot lately, the beautiful white she-cat looked very tired.

"Moonfeather! You okay?" Ashpaw gasped, leaping to her side and licking her ears anxiously. It was very clear that the dark gray tabby apprentice was very concerned for her.

"N-Not really..." Moonfeather rasped, trying to heave herself to her paws. "I feel faint."

Unfortunately, Goldpaw felt a sharp pain shoot through his head like poison from a cobra's bite. He felt the same pain like Moonfeather since he was connected to StarClan. Hok never told him that this would happen, but he had to ignore the pain and go onward.

He rasped, "The Moon Spirit...it's in danger. I feel it too."

Moonfeather heaved herself up, thanks to Ashpaw, and looked up at the red moon, her blue eyes glowing. "I owe Water's daughter my life." When Ashpaw gave her a confused look, she sighed, "I never told anyone, but I guess I can tell you guys. Gather around and listen."

Goldpaw couldn't go over to them because he had to steer Archie, but he did try to pay attention. Ashpaw and Silverpaw sat in front of Moonfeather, who began her amazing story:

"When I was kitted, I had jet black fur and dark green eyes; I'll get to the part about why I have white fur. Anyways, most kits squeal and suckle from their mother's belly for milk, but me...I didn't do either; in fact, I looked as if I was asleep, but I really wasn't. Our medicine cat tried everything she could, but there was nothing she could do. She told my parents I was going to die.

She took a deep breath and went on, "Brinestar prayed to StarClan to save me from my illness. That night, when the moon was full, he took me to the Moonpond and dipped me into the spirit water. It tasted so refreshing and cool on my tongue. Soon, my fur turned from black to white, I began wailing, and I was laid at my mother's side to suckle. I was going to live."

Moonfeather gave a sigh and looked up at the moon. "That is why my mother gave me the name Moonkit: in honor of what Water's children had done to help me."

Goldpaw understood the young white she-cat very much and he exchanged a worried look with Silverpaw. Since she was a WaterBender, her powers would also get affected by this horrible attack on the moon. Whatever was attacking the moon would never be forgiven by StarClan, but they would go to the deepest darkest and coldest place in the Dark Forest.

Perhaps more than Tigerstar.

**...**

When Goldpaw and his pack made it back in time, Goldpaw gasped with pure horror at the cat that was there. It was Thornflare, his amber eyes glowing red in the scarlet moonlight and his stumpy tail twitching with excitement. Flailing at his front claws was the white fish, the Moon Spirit, Tatkresiwok.

Thornflare was on his hind legs and screeching manically, "From now on, I am a legend! From now on, generations of FireClan cats shall tell nursery stories about the great Thornflare who slain the moon! I will be named Thornflare the Conqueror! Thornflare, Destroyer of StarClan! THORNFLARE THE ALMIGHTY! I shall rule the...the..._what the hell_?"

For at that moment, feeling angry at what the FireClan deputy was doing, Goldpaw sent Tobias, who was hiding from the dark brown cat, right at him. Thornflare had been caught off guard and was now trying to swat his claws at the red-tailed hawk, who slashed at his face with his talons.

Several of Thornflare's cats that came with him tried to help him, but they were no match for Tobias. The green-eyed hawk flew out of their reach and flew over to Goldpaw, landing on his head. Now Goldpaw and his friends (plus Archie and Tobias) were facing off against Thornflare and his warrior cats. The young Avatar Cat raced forward to try and attack, but Thornflare just jumped out of the way.

"Don't interfere!" the FireClan deputy spat, swiping sharp flaming claws at Goldpaw. Pain seared through the golden cat as the claws struck his shoulder, so he turned to glare at Thornflare. But it was too late; he had gone back to the weak fish and planted one paw back onto it.

"NO!" Goldpaw roared, leaping forward and shoving him away. The dark brown tom felt heavier than a fox, but he also had a temper to match. "Don't destroy the Moon Spirit! Let it go!"

Thornflare just snorted with disbelief, shoved him back, and got back to the fish. "No! It is my destiny to destroy these two miserable spirits...to destroy WaterClan!"

Goldpaw couldn't believe that this cat was so stubborn...even more stubborn than Bearclaw. He gave a furious sigh and glared at the FireClan deputy. Disregarding the blood dripping from his shoulder onto sacred ground, he limped forward and stared Thornflare in the eye.

"Thornflare," he began, "if you destroy that Spirit, it won't just damage WaterClan. It's going to harm every cat, it'll harm every StarClan cat...and it'll harm _you_! Without the moon, everything will fall out of balance; every part of the Warrior Code about the full moon will be shattered. Do you have any idea what horror you're going to do?"

"The youngster's right, Thornflare! Listen to him!"

The new voice made Goldpaw turn around, and the arriving cat shocked him. Irontail, Bearclaw's uncle, was dashing forward, his fur bristling and his amber eyes glowing angrily.

"Ah...Irontail," Thornflare purred in a bored lecturing tone. "What a shame you're turning traitor so soon to your Clan, eh?"

"I am no traitor," the fat gray tabby tom growled as he stood side-by-side with Goldpaw. "What the Avatar Cat says is true. Like the other Clans, FireClan also needs the moon. Every cat on this earth depends on its balance."

When Thornflare didn't listen and lowered his claws to the shaky fish, Irontail shot fire between them and roared, "_If you kill that spirit, I shall give you a penalty ten times worse!_ _LET IT GO! NOW!_"

The two FireClan tomcats locked amber eyes for a moment, and for a minute, it looked like there was going to be a fight. Then Thornflare waited and picked up the fish in his jaws, looking like he was going to kill it. Instead, he kneeled down to the pond and released the fish back into the water. The red light of the moon vanished, finally replaced by its normal color.

_Good! His soul can be saved!_

But the FireClan deputy's face was etched with some kind of madness and desperation. And to everyone's horror, he picked up the fish again, slammed it to the ground, and slashed it right across the throat. Goldpaw and Irontail recoiled in horror as the fire glowed on his claws and sliced through the Moon Spirit's flesh.

Suddenly, the light from the moon suddenly faded until it was completely dark; Goldpaw looked up in horror to see that the moon was completely gone. He was wrong about Thornflare being saved. His soul was now forever doomed to suffer in the Place Of No Stars.

In a roar of fury, Irontail sprung forward and tried to catch Thornflare with his claws, but the evil tom blocked one attack and backed away while Irontail adeptly beat off the other warriors. After looking on in horror as his cats were wiped out by the aging warrior, he gave one hiss and fled. Irontail gave a growl to Thornflare's warriors, who fled with tails between their legs like dogs.

After the other warriors ran off with either torn ears or slashed flanks, all five cats looked down in sorrow at the two fish. The Ocean Spirit was still swimming around, but it was now swimming frantically with fear. The white fish was just lying there with a large gash in its throat, unmoving and non-breathing.

Irontail sadly pawed the fish over to them, and they all felt tears fill their eyes...Moonfeather the most. "It's all over..." she sobbed, leaning into Ashpaw's shoulder. "There's no hope. It's over..."

Goldpaw looked at her with sorrow and almost agreed when he realized something. No matter what happened to the Clan cats, there was always hope. StarClan would always live in them and watch over them for all time.

With his eyes and arrows glowing white, he meowed with all the other spirits of StarClan, "_No. It's not over yet._"

As Goldpaw padded into the cool water of the Moonpond, Silverpaw was going to join him. But Irontail gently nudged her away, telling her that it was the Avatar Cat's time.

Goldpaw sat in the middle of the pond, head bowed in prayer. He looked down at the black fish, whose eyes and white mark on his spine began to glow white. Goldpaw looked down at his paws in the pond, which now shined bright white. Then he dropped into the pond, as if the bottom had fallen out of it, and disappeared.

_Come with me, I'll take you now_

_To a place that you fear_

_For no reason why._

_Your heart has turned away from me_

_And I will make you understand._

The water in the pond around the oasis itself began to glow a deep blue veined with white. As the effect spread, the glow spread out from behind the bastion to include the entire bastion area of the city. The four cats looked on with surprise at the breathtaking power coming to life before them.

A huge glowing blue wave rushed under the bridge as if some huge creature was moving right underneath it. Archie was standing on the grass of the oasis, but the Asian Lung Dragon was now dwarfed by the creature that rose from the pool, the citadel and the city visible beyond it.

_Everything will become clear to you_

_When you see things through another's eyes._

_Everything will become clear to you._

_Whatever's meant for you, you will find._

The blue, white veined creature was a huge Godzilla-like being, its jaws open in a massive roar. At its center was a blue white bubble in which Goldpaw sat in, spreading his forelegs wide. A moment later, the Ocean Spirit, for this was in unity with the Avatar Cat, duplicated the motion. FireClan cats stood in front of the last wall.

_Come with me, I'll take you there_

_To a place where you'll see_

_Everything you need to be the one you need to be._

_And all of those things that you feared_

_Will disappear from you in time_

The Ocean Spirit towered over the citadel, its arms still spread wide, its blue spirit lighting the city like a guiding light. The Spirit began prowling down into the city. Snowstorm and his cats instantly bowed to the floor in honor of their ancestor.

Across the canal, FireClan cats raised their spears in defiance, but they were swept away by a wall of water sent by the Ocean Spirit. Goldpaw, inside the body of the Ocean Spirit, flailed his legs about, directing the power of the Ocean Spirit against the attacker of the Moon Spirit and WaterClan.

_Everything will become clear to you_

_When you see things through another's eyes._

_Everything will become clear to you._

_Whatever's meant for you, you will find._

FireClan tanks fired blasts of fire at the Ocean Spirit, but they were absorbed with no effect. The warriors and tanks were washed away as if they were moss balls. The Ocean Spirit passed by the WaterClan cats, who gave respect to their king. The entire FireClan army was now in full retreat, trying desperately to escape the revenge of a living Spirit. The Ocean Spirit reached the major canal in front of the third wall and melted into it.

**...**

Thornflare ran over a foot bridge somewhere in the city. He leaped onto a parapet, but he was almost hit by a blast of fire that hit the wall in front of him. As the smoke cleared, the dark brown tom looked up to see Bearclaw on the wall up above him.

"YOU?" Thornflare hissed with astonishment. "But how?"

"You tried to kill me!" the dark brown tabby tom spat angrily. Now was the time for revenge. No other cats were attacking them now; both sides were fighting now.

So Bearclaw launches a few fire blasts at Thornflare with a cry of anger, but his target dodged to the side, rolling along the parapet wall. They glared at one another with hatred as the giant form of the Ocean Spirit stalked through the city, chasing the FireClan cats away.

Thornflare shook his head angrily to get himself into focus. He spat hatefully, "Of course I tried to kill you! You're an enemy to FireClan! You are the Red Demon!"

"I had no choice!"

After that, the large dark brown tabby tom continued his attack, firing lob after lob at Thornflare, who broke them with his paws held together in a wedge in front of him. As the blasts subsided, Thornflare shook his head, and a few singed whiskers fell onto the snow, his muzzle bleeding.

"Well, you should've learned to just accept your failure! You should've accepted your own damn humiliation!" the FireClan deputy roared ferociously.

As these harsh words were exchanged, Thornflare began to return fire. They traded clawing after clawing as the fight raged back and forth in the darkness. At one point, Bearclaw was able to use a moment when Thornflare left his chest unguarded. Bearclaw dashed forward and head-butted him there, and Thornflare fell off the stockade wall onto the tier below.

_Did...did I win?_

**...**

Irontail gave a sorrowful sigh and gently laid the dead fish back into the water while the other three looked on with sorrow. Ashpaw sympathized with them, even though he wasn't as spiritual as the four other cats. StarClan was very important, and without the Moon Spirit, nothing would make sense at all.

Silverpaw tried licking the wound, but it was no use. "There's no healing it," she rasped. "It's dead."

But all of a sudden, while the four cats mourned for the Moon Spirit, Irontail opened his eyes and meowed to Moonfeather, "You have been touched by the daughter of Water, correct?" When she nodded, he went on kindly, "Some of its life is still in you!"

Moonfeather looked up at the elderly FireClan cat and mewed, "You're right, sir. It's the one who gave me life...and I can give it back!" Without another word, she got up and padded over to the Moonpond, the water lapping at her paws.

"Moonfeather! What the hell? NO!" Ashpaw wailed, rushing over to her. He couldn't believe he was losing another cat that he loved: first Seamist and now Moonfeather. "This could be a trap! You don't have to do this!"

"Ashpaw, it's my duty to StarClan," the pure white she-cat murmured, looking into his pale blue eyes with her bright blue ones.

Ashpaw buried his face into her shoulder and croaked, "No! I won't let you! I made a promise! I have to keep you safe!"

Moonfeather shook her head sadly, her eyes shining with tears as she gave the dark gray tabby apprentice a tender lick on the muzzle. "Ashpaw, I'm so sorry. But...I have to do this."

After pulling away from him the final time, Moonfeather padded over to Irontail, who held the dead fish gently in his jaws. She put her nose right onto the forehead of the Moon Spirit, which began to glow. She closed her now- pale green eyes for the last time, exhaled a final breath, and the now-black she-cat fell over at Ashpaw's feet.

She looked back up at him with love in her eyes before falling back, not moving after this.

Moonfeather...was dead.

"MOONFEATHER! NO!" Ashpaw screeched, feeling hot tears slide down his cheeks and on her still body. He couldn't believe it: the brave beautiful she-cat he loved was now dead, dead due to her duty to StarClan. He licked her cheek miserably and laid down beside her body.

"S-She's gone," he sobbed, looking up at Silverpaw and Irontail through his tears. "She's gone..."

Silverpaw watched on with sorrow while Irontail nodded with sympathy. Then the FireClan elder backed away and left the two cats to mourn.

**...**

At the outer wall, the FireClan Navy ships tried desperately to flee. The bowsprits raised quickly as the ships backed out, but the glowing blue of the Ocean Spirit flowed out past the city wall in front of the FireClan Navy fleet. The Ocean Spirit reformed and, towering over the navy, reached out with a claw. It pushed two ships back out to sea at amazing speed and Goldpaw, while in the bubble, was making a slicing motion.

_Come with me, I'll take you there_

_To a place where you'll see_

_Everything you need to be the one you need to be._

_And all of those things that you feared_

_Will disappear from you in time._

Now the Ocean Spirit was making the same slicing motion and made a razor cut through the bridge tower of Thornflare's flagship. The cut section slid down to the foredeck, and the ship's forward trebuchet was wrecked. As the Ocean Spirit was standing over the fleet, it raised its arms, forming a huge wave which tipped over many vessels, and pushed the rest far out to sea.

Many cats did not make it back alive.

**...**

While Ashpaw was lying gently by Moonfeather's lifeless body, he began to doubt StarClan in his mind. _Why did they have to do this to us? Why?_ But he knew he was being unfair. StarClan had chosen Moonfeather for this task, and he couldn't blame them.

Suddenly, to everyone's shock, her body began to glow. It was gently lifted high into the chilly night air, disappearing, while the fish in Irontail's jaws glowed; he dropped it back into the water. It began to swim around joyfully in the pond.

The pond glowed white as the cats looked on and a ghostly form rose from it. It transformed into Moonfeather's form, but now she was standing by a beautiful silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes and a large broad-shouldered gray tom with yellow eyes. Her new-white fur was now longer than before as the two cats around her padded down to where she sat in front of Ashpaw.

"Farewell, Ashpaw," Moonfeather murmured softly into his ear, her voice echoing. "I will watch over you forever."

She rubbed her face against Ashpaw's and purred so loudly that he felt like she came back to life. She faded away along with Graystripe and Silverstream, but in the sky, the moon was shining brightly once again. Ashpaw looked up at the moon, using a forepaw to flick a tear away.

_Good-bye, Moonfeather. I will love you forever..._

**...**

The Ocean Spirit was standing on top of the city walls. It looked up to see the moon alive once again. Instantly, Goldpaw faded away inside the creature, which dissipated into the ocean. The Spirit's spirit flowed back to the wall and placed Goldpaw on the top of it. There, his glow left him as he laid down and laid one paw to the side of his head, spent with the effort.

WaterClan has won.

_Everything will become clear to you_

_When you see things through another's eyes._

_Everything will become clear to you_

_Whatever's meant for you, you will find._

**...**

Meanwhile, Bearclaw and Thornflare battled on at a foot bridge over a passage way, Bearclaw knowing that he had yet to win this. They traded blow after blow, but a series of direct hits from Bearclaw kept the deputy at bay. As Thornflare tried to get up, he saw the moon over Bearclaw's broad shoulder.

"No! It can't be!" Thornflare hissed with fear. "Shit!"

Suddenly, the soul of the Ocean Spirit approached fast and came together around the bridge. It grabbed Thornflare in its claws and began to pull him off the bridge, making the dark brown tom yowl in horror. With dismay, Bearclaw watched the struggling tom and reached his paw out for him. However much he hated this cat, he didn't want him to die...not like this.

"Thornflare!" he called. "Take my paw!"

Desperately, Thornflare tried to reach for it for a moment, and it looked like he was accepting his rival. But then, suddenly, he drew his paw back with a look of pure hatred on his face. Then the Ocean Spirit finally dragged the dark brown FireClan deputy underwater and vanished.

Bearclaw couldn't believe his eyes; Thornflare was finally dead, killed by the dead Moon Spirit's companion. But he also felt pity for the dark brown FireClan warrior. If he hadn't shown pride or fierce ambition all the time, he would have still been alive. But his mission to capture the Avatar Cat would now be incessant and free. Then...another worrying thought came to him:

_Thornflare's down; I think that bastard deserves it. So...what'll Darkstar do to me if he finds out?_

**...**

The next morning, after the attack was finally over, some of the cats observed the area around them. The WaterClan city was now somewhat lying in ruins and two cats were observing the area with sadness: Snowstorm and Silverpaw.

The pale gray tom turned to meow to her, "I've decided to leave for a little while and go to the Southern WaterClan. Believe it or not, some of the warriors and apprentices are coming with me to stay there for a while. I believe the time to rebuild our brother Clan has come at last." And he purred, "And along the way, I might try and see Rainbreeze again."

"What about Goldpaw? He still has to learn WaterBending," Silverpaw asked him, worry in her mew. She glanced over to where Goldpaw and Tobias were surveying some of the ruined city together.

"Then he'll get used to calling you 'Master,'" Snowstorm purred, dipping his head to her.

Silverpaw purred back and licked her mentor's shoulder while he rested his nose on her forehead. Goldpaw could have problems in learning to WaterBend, but she would help him along the way. She and Ashpaw would help him complete his training with the help of StarClan.

She looked over to where Ashpaw and Brinestar were seeing the sun rise high in the morning sky. When the apprentices told him what happened to Moonfeather (for Irontail had left them), the WaterClan leader didn't attack or yell at Ashpaw. Instead, he had looked away from him as if he couldn't believe his ears.

The gray tabby-&-white tom looked at him with a sad yet thoughtful look in his green eyes as he turned to Ashpaw. "When Moonkit was born, StarClan sent me a vision and a prophecy. I saw...a brave and beautiful she-cat...become one with the moon." He sighed and closed his eyes. "I knew this would happen."

"You must be so proud of her," Ashpaw mewed with a hint of comfort in his mew, for he had promised to sit beside his lover's grave until it was the time to leave.

"Yes, I'm so proud of her," Brinestar muttered, opening his eyes again. "Proud yet sad." Then the two toms gave a sigh and looked up together at the fading moon before it faded away for the day.

**...**

Bearclaw gave a massive sigh and curled up into a ball on the floating raft. It had been a very exhausting night for him and he wanted to sleep; they were floating among the ruined wreckage of FireClan ships.

Irontail gave him a surprised look as he meowed, "Nephew, I am surprised you're not continuing your search for the Avatar Cat. Even I was sure you would be back on your paws and finding him."

"I'm tired," Bearclaw mumbled, feeling drowsy.

"Then rest, Bearclaw," his uncle purred, licking his wounded shoulder. "A cat needs a little catnap sometimes."

The gray tabby elder sat up to take the watch while Bearclaw looked on over the horizon with a pained feeling. He had failed, probably for the last time, to catch the Avatar Cat and bring him to Darkstar. Speaking of him, he couldn't imagine what his father would do to him if he came back empty-pawed.

But he felt too tired to think. Feeling even more weary, he felt sleep brush over his golden eyes like an owl's wing.

**...**

As Goldpaw looked around the wrecked city of WaterClan, he couldn't believe it: the Northern WaterClan had finally won. He couldn't believe he made it this far. But he couldn't help but feel if he had killed any cat during the battle. If he did, StarClan and its AirClan ancestors would not forgive him. He could even see Thornflare's dead body floating down the canal and out into the ocean, never to be seen again.

Silverpaw's scent hit his nose as he turned to see her. Then, as if they needed no answers, they stepped forward to each other and embraced each other warmly. A cawing noise made them turn to see Tobias gazing at them with curiosity.

"Come on, Tobias. You too," Silverpaw purred.

Goldpaw nodded agreement and Tobias flew over to on top of his head; Ashpaw joined up with them. The WaterClan tom looked over Goldpaw's right shoulder while Silverpaw was on the left shoulder. With a rumble, Archie rose from below. He floated patiently, waiting for his friends so they could depart as the course of events pushed them on and bear out their destinies. They were the five:

Tobias, the reliable and silly.

Archie, the tough and strong.

Ashpaw, the wise and beloved.

Silverpaw, the brave and beautiful.

And Goldpaw...the Avatar Cat. The Last AirClan Cat.

**...**

Darkstar let out a growl of rage when he had heard of the defeat at the Northern WaterClan. That just lowered chances at getting northern territory to hunt and fight at. So, while surrounded by his flames on the throne, he summoned a black she-cat over to sit in front of him, her muscles lean and her golden eyes harsh with cruelty.

"Your uncle is a traitor to FireClan, and your brother is a disgrace to us," the huge dark tomcat growled to her. "And Thornflare had failed to win this battle for us. But that's where you come in."

As she looked up to give him a look of evil satisfaction on her face, he went on, "I have a job for you, my daughter..."

The battle was lost, but the war...was not over yet...

_To be continued...for now!_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: At last! The remake is over! ...not yet, though.**

**Sokka: Lemme guess. The epilogue, right?**

**AvatarCat12: Yeah. And don't worry about Yue; she's at a better place.**

**Sokka: (Wipes his eyes) Yeah...and I ain't crying! I just had snow in my eyes!**

**(AvatarCat12, Katara, and Holly laugh)**

**Katara: Okay, who should say the disclaimer now?**

**Holly: (Turning to Sokka) How about you? I mean, I know you'd like to hear Yue on the epilogue.**

**Sokka: ...yeah, sure. (To the readers) Those reviewing will get a virtual gift basket of Avatar Cat: The Last AirClan Cat. Flames will be sued to make S'Mores, and we allow constructive criticism, but don't make it TOO harsh. Now here's the preview for the last chapter: the epilogue.**

**Preview: A few days after the battle, Ashpaw still mourns over Moonfeather. But his friends have a surprise for him that could cheer him up.**

**Everyone: See ya next time!**


	23. Epilogue

**AvatarCat12: This is the last chapter of this remake. And thank God!**

**Holly: I know! How long has this story been going on?**

**Katara: Two months. And did you hear? The Promise Part 1 came out in stores today!**

**AvatarCat12: I know. But the first book of the second Seeker Bears series will come out when I get it in the mail. So I'm gonna wait until then.**

**Holly: Okay. Anyways, can Katara and I say the disclaimer and summary?**

**AvatarCat12: Sure!**

**Disclaimer: AvatarCat12 made up this scene by himself. But he does not own Avatar: The Last AirBender or Warrior Cats. They respectively belong to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Erin Hunter. And he doesn't own the Great Spirits song: Disney does.**

**Summary: ****A few days after the battle, Ashpaw still mourns over Moonfeather. But his friends have a surprise for him that could cheer him up.**

**Updating Date: January 25, 2012**

**AvatarCat12, Katara, and Holly: Enjoy!**

**...**

_Epilogue_

Goldpaw and Silverpaw padded around the newly fixed Northern WaterClan city with fresh-kill in their jaws. Silverpaw had caught a salmon in her jaws while Goldpaw caught an arctic hare. Despite being an AirClan cat by birth, Goldpaw got very used to hunting just like a WaterClan cat since he had a crush on one: Silverpaw.

It had already been a quarter-moon since WaterClan won their epic battle against FireClan and their deputy, Thornflare. Goldpaw had felt a stab of pain at remembering seeing his body float down the canal and out to sea, never to be seen again. Silverpaw had to tell him that it was the Ocean Spirit, not Goldpaw, who had done it. But he still felt guilty; he had been fused together with the Ocean Spirit.

"Hey, Goldpaw," Silverpaw asked him, setting down her fish. "Did you see Ashpaw lately?"

"No, I haven't seen him since this morning."

Silverpaw rolled her eyes. "No, smartass. I'm asking if you REALLY saw him lately. He hasn't been the same ever since Moonfeather died. He ate some fresh-kill, but he won't move at all. It's like he thinks she'll come back to life."

Goldpaw shook his head and replied, "Oh, that! Well, yeah. I just wish we could do something to get him to cheer up."

So after that, they visited Snowstorm, who relieved them of their training for the day. After that, they went to see Mintwhisker, who was training several cats to heal. The two young cats had visited these two to give their fresh-kill to them. When that was finished at last, Goldpaw and Silverpaw went over to the Moonpond, where Ashpaw sat vigil over Moonfeather's grave.

**...**

When they got there, Goldpaw and Silverpaw saw the familiar pond shimmering with sunlight in its wave. At the other side of the oasis was Ashpaw, whose head hung low and bowed low over Moonfeather's grave. There was no body to be buried, but a large statue of the white she-cat was built with honor and Ashpaw had helped out to make it.

Earlier, Oakfoot, who was Moonfeather's expected mate, had cruelly accused Ashpaw of causing Moonfeather's death and threatened to kill him in front of everyone. Furious at this, Brinestar had demoted the ginger tabby tom from senior warrior and punished him for a moon by making him care for the elders. Despite that, Oakfoot didn't change his ways. But now, he had to face the fury of his two friends.

"Ashpaw?" Silverpaw mewed to her brother.

When Ashpaw turned around, Goldpaw couldn't bear to see the pain in his pale blue eyes; they were filled with pain, but it was in a tired way. Goldpaw felt very bad and wanted to help the dark gray tabby tom feel better.

"I was supposed to protect her..." Ashpaw was moaning sadly. "Why couldn't I protect her? I loved her and I let her die. This was all my fault. Oakfoot was right."

"No he wasn't!" Goldpaw swore while Silverpaw licked her brother's ears in a caring way. "That arrogant bastard didn't know what he was talking about!"

Silverpaw licked her Clanmate's ear again before adding, "There was just nothing you could do, anyways. Moonfeather knew what she was doing, remember?"

Ashpaw looked up at her with misery. "And it's because Irontail told her to, right?"

Goldpaw gave a sigh and almost wished he could claw some sense into his friend. Was he going to act like this forever? Instead of clawing him, he just gave him a cuff on the side of the head with his claws sheathed. Ashpaw flinched at this; the young Avatar Cat never hit his friends if they were being stubborn.

"Ashpaw, that wasn't sending someone to their death," he growled. More gently, he added, "It was just a choice. And she knew what her choice already was. She wouldn't want for you to be upset, right? So don't blame yourself or other cats."

Finally, there was a new and determined light glowing in Ashpaw's tired eyes. Then he mewed, "You're right. I really should stop beating myself up. It was Moonfeather's choice, and I'm sure Graystripe and Silverstream will care for her in StarClan. Those are the ancestors of Silverpaw and I."

Goldpaw and Silverpaw gave Ashpaw a respectful look as he snapped out of his depressed state. Now he seemed well enough to finally eat some more fresh-kill, so Goldpaw dropped his arctic hare to the ground. He didn't like the taste for fish a lot, but he purred while his friend wolfed down the hare in famished bites.

"When you're quite done," Silverpaw meowed to her littermate as he continued to eat, "we need to Mintwhisker's den and get prepared. Our warrior ceremony's coming up tonight."

Suddenly, Ashpaw looked up at her, his light sapphire eyes filled with shock as he stammered, "D-Did you just say...warrior ceremony? Tonight?" When they nodded, he wailed, "Oh shit! I forgot about that! What do I do?"

At that, the three cats managed to cross over to the door that led to the city. Once there, they raced off to Mintwhisker's healing place, the snow chilling their paws.

**...**

That evening, the full moon hung well in the sky as if it wasn't bothered by the evil FireClan deputy, Thornflare. Every cat in WaterClan had already gathered at a farewell feast for Goldpaw, Silverpaw, and Ashpaw. When they saw Snowstorm, they remembered he was going over to the Southern WaterClan to repair the Clan...and to be with Rainbreeze, of course.

Anyways, the three apprentices padded forward to the center of the plaza while everyone else was talking together with excitement. It seemed that everyone had recovered from the attack they had to face a quarter-moon. All of a sudden, to Ashpaw's sorrow and the anger of Goldpaw and Silverpaw, a voice full of hatred reached their ears.

"That cat doesn't deserve to be a warrior!"

Oakfoot had come forward, his fur bristling and his amber eyes filled with insanity. He hissed at Brinestar, "Are we going to sit by and let my mate's killer be a warrior?"

"Oakfoot!" Brinestar barked. "Last time I remember, I'm the leader of this Clan. If you become the leader one day, the decision will be yours. But for now, you'll have to respect mine. And for your information, Ashpaw is no killer."

"Yes he is!" Oakfoot growled. "Kill him! I want him dead!"

Suddenly, angered at this biased ginger tabby tom, Goldpaw and Silverpaw leaped forward and placed themselves between Ashpaw and Oakfoot. Giving a growl, the two apprentices began to stalk forward and made him back away from the plaza.

Goldpaw hissed at him, "What the hell is wrong with you, you horrible fox-heart? Making death threats and asking your leader to do it? Besides, it wasn't his fault she died; she chose to do it! You are a disgrace to all warriors if you are to say this sort of thing!"

"He's right!" Silverpaw snarled, standing by his side. "Now get out of here! Or do you need your eyes to be our claw-sharpeners?"

Without any other words to reprimand his warrior, Brinestar kinked his tail for two warriors to take him away, and the two of them did just that. When Oakfoot was finally gone, the dark gray WaterClan leader looked down at his Clan from his block of ice and cleared his throat.

"Anyways..." Brinestar meowed. "I'd like for Goldpaw, Silverpaw, and Ashpaw to step forward. It is time I gave them their warrior names."

The three apprentices gave each other eager glances and padded over to sit in front of the leader. Their pelts brushed together with contentment, happy that they had finally made it so far. They had journeyed all the way from the Southern WaterClan territory to AirClan and finally to here, the Northern WaterClan territory to get their warrior names.

Brinestar raised his tail for silence and every cat fell silent as the wind blew over the city. Then he looked up to the stars and meowed loudly, "I, Brinestar, leader of WaterClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these three apprentices. They have trained hard to uphold the ways of your noble code and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn." To the three, he mewed, "Do you three promise to uphold the ways of our noble code and to protect any cat even at the cost of your own life?"

"I do," Goldpaw murmured.

"I do," Silverpaw mewed the same thing.

"I do," Ashpaw purred along with them.

"Then by the will of StarClan, I give you three your warrior names," Brinestar meowed. Turning to Ashpaw, he meowed, "Ashpaw, from this moment on, you shall be known as-"

"Wait!"

Every cat gasped as Ashpaw interrupted his own warrior ceremony. Goldpaw and Silverpaw exchanged worried looks; they had never heard an apprentice interrupt their warrior ceremony before. But Brinestar was nodding as if to allow him to go on. Once, Oakfoot tried to interrupt, but the other warriors made him shut up by growling at him.

Anyways, Ashpaw went on, his voice croaking, "If it's all right with you, I...I want to choose my warrior name. I...I want to be known as...Ash_feather_. I want to honor Moonfeather's memory by being named Ashfeather."

Brinestar gazed down at Ashpaw as if considering this over; finally, after a few minutes' worth of thinking, he leaped down in front of him, meowing, "Very well. Ashpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Ashfeather. StarClan honors your wisdom and care for friends, and we welcome you as a full warrior."

He rested his muzzle to the top of Ashfeather's forehead while the dark gray tabby tom leaned in and licked the Northern WaterClan leader on his shoulder. Goldpaw felt pride for his friend run through his veins like a flowing stream.

To Silverpaw, he meowed, "Silverpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Silverheart. StarClan honors your bravery and kindness and we welcome you as a warrior." Then he rested his muzzle on Silverheart's forehead while the silver she-cat licked his shoulder in reply.

Finally, he turned to Goldpaw and meowed, "And Goldpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Goldwing. StarClan honors your honesty and willpower, and we welcome you as a full warrior of the world."

Hearing that Brinestar didn't put "Avatar Cat" in the sentence, Goldwing was too shocked for any words...but not in a bad way. This was even better than his apprentice ceremony when Galestar made him an apprentice a moon earlier than he was ready. He couldn't lick the leader's shoulder, but he dipped his head to him and purred; Brinestar did the same.

"Goldwing! Silverheart! Ashfeather!" all of WaterClan (minus Oakfoot) called out. "Goldwing! Silverheart! Ashfeather!"

_Great Spirits of all who live before,_

_Take our hands and lead us._

_Fill our hearts and souls with all you know._

"After the feast, these three warriors will sit vigil for their first night as warriors," Brinestar announced. "Let's thank StarClan for their service!"

"Hear, hear!" everyone cheered as they finally began eating.

The three new warriors went forth and picked out a snow partridge and two salmon from the fresh-kill pile. When Goldwing and his friends began to feast, Silverheart turned to him and purred, "I'm so proud of you, Gold...wing." Turning to her brother, she purred, "And I'm proud of you too, big brother."

Ashfeather nodded his thanks and purred, "I know! I can't believe we got this far! We're warriors at last! Awesome, eh?"

Goldwing nodded and almost began to dig into his partridge, but a sudden sweet scent whirled around him and his friends. Silverheart and Ashfeather didn't notice, but the young gold warrior did. When he looked up, he could see Moonfeather's spirit gazing down at him and his friends with pride in her blue eyes.

"Well done, you three," she purred. "Your journey isn't over yet, but you three will be fine. And I'm sorry for the way Oakfoot's been treating Ashfeather. Please tell Ashfeather I'm so proud of him and tell him...tell him I love him." Touching his forehead with her muzzle, she purred, "Good luck," before going on back to the moon.

"I will," Goldwing promised, looking up at the moon.

_Thank you. And good luck... _the spirit whispered before padding away to the sky.

A journey had ended, but another is beginning...

_Show us that in your eyes,_

_We are all the same._

_Brothers to each other in this world we remain._

_Truly brothers are the same._

_Brothers are the same!_

_**The end...for now!**_

**...**

**AvatarCat12: At last! The epilogue is done, and this story is complete!**

**Katara: Well done, AvatarCat! We're so proud of you! (She and Holly hug him)**

**AvatarCat12: Thanks, you two! And I'll go ahead and say the review thing and other stuff.**

**Holly: (Smiles at him) Yeah. Go ahead!**

**AvatarCat12: All right then. First, here's a preview for Book 2: Spring.**

**Preview: Avatar Cat Goldwing, now a warrior, and his friends continue their quest to save the world, this time looking for an EarthBending mentor. Meanwhile, with Bearclaw out of the way, they encounter a deadlier enemy, while a prophecy tells about FireClan's darkest hour in Clan history.**

**Those who review will get virtual gift baskets of Avatar Cat and virtual boxes of your preferred pizza. Flames will be used to make virtual S'Mores, and we allow constructive criticism, but don't make it too harsh.**

**Special thanks to: WinxPossible, Kyuubi No Tenshi, The Veronicas Music Is My Life, fanfic meister, and WildCroconaw**

**AvatarCat12, Katara, and Holly: SEE YA NEXT TIME!**


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